The Boreas Sapphire
by Buffy2204
Summary: Camelot is hit by a harsh and unusually brutal winter. Merlin finds himself having to make a journey with only Gwaine for company, while Arthur remains in Camelot to help his people. As always, Merlin finds more trouble than he bargained for. Reveal!fic Arthur and Merlin friendship. No slash.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey. Welcome to my first Merlin fic. Let me know what you think of the first chapter._

It was a cold winter. It was cold and it seemed to have started far too early. Summer had passed as quickly as a shadow and the corridors of the castle grew darker with the shortening of the days. It had lasted barely long enough to warm the waters of the lakes in the valleys surrounding the kingdom. Now they had their first sheen of thin ice layering their tops.

This worried Arthur. Bad weather meant bad harvest and general suffering of villagers in the kingdom. He had already been getting reports of poor crop due to the lack of light and warmth. Some of the outlying villages had even requested a pardon from the taxes. He wasn't used to the refusal from his subjects to pay taxes. Camelot was a fairly wealthy country, they had good natural resources and the king had made sure to be as fair as possible when setting how much each village would owe. He had never had to send knights to check that his people were truthful when they said they could not afford to share food, furs and wood with the city this time. And he did not want to start now.

However, he also had to make sure that people within the city and the castle were fed and sufficiently clothed for the winter.

Arthur sat down at his desk within his chambers and looked over the latest paperwork from the council. They demanded more firewood. The supply that the castle had was enough to last 3 months. Arthur very much doubted that three months would be enough to get them through the worst of the winter and out the other side.

The council were noblemen generally. They were not used to hardship and had also made a side note about the food becoming monotonous. The cook had only served them different variety of pork all week. Arthur knew that this was because pigs were easy and cheap for the people to keep within the city walls. Pigs were readily available and until the next delivery of other livestock arrived from the villages, pigs would be the staple diet. He briefly wondered how the council would react if he told them they might have to endure a bit of Merlin's rat stew for a while if it got too bad.

He shuddered at himself for that thought.

Not for the first time, Arthur let himself dwell on how much easier it had been to just be a prince rather than a King.

A cold breeze made the candle on his desk flicker and this broke Arthur from his trance. The cold air whipped round his neck and around his ear and made him swivel to look at the offending window. Who would leave the window open on a night like this?

Merlin.

It's like that boy lived to annoy him.

Where was he anyway?

He'd gone almost an hour ago to collect more firewood for his room before Arthur retired to bed. It was a testament to his ever-increasing pile of paperwork that he hadn't noticed that he hadn't come back yet. Arthur looked down guiltily at the council's report about the lack of wood for the castle and considered telling Merlin to put it back once he arrived. Then the cold caught the back of his neck again and he resolved to just use less tomorrow.

How could it take one man so long to get wood?

Arthur peered around the room and towards the door but the corridor outside was silent. He picked himself up to close the window and deliberated going to look for the inept manservant himself. But it probably wouldn't do for a king to go charging around the castle after a servant. Even one as irritating as Merlin.

The snow outside had begun to fall now. The first flakes of snow floated down to the courtyard below and attached themselves to the cold cobbles. It looked like there would be a nice layering by the morning. Arthur sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.

And shivered again.

Bloody Merlin, making his room so cold. He hoped he hadn't done the same in Guinevere's room. Merlin had been acting as personal servant to the Queen for a while now. Gwen was having difficulty adjusting to someone else waiting on her and none of her servants seemed to stay long before she dismissed them. Arthur made a note to talk to her about that. Merlin could only realistically serve one person and he wasn't even very good at that.

Arthur crossed the room to retrieve his fur cloak, the leather of his jacket was not keeping the chill away anymore but the cupboard was empty. Typical. That was probably Merlin too.

He huffed a sigh and decided to just set himself beside the fire for a while but quickly remembered that the fire was on its last few embers.

Well, that settled it. He'd just freeze then. He thought petulantly.

Shouldn't a king have a capable manservant?

No, not just capable. The _best_ manservant in the kingdom.

Why had he been left with Merlin!?

At that moment Merlin stumbled through the door in a rush, spilling the wood pile over the middle of the floor and promptly tripping over the nearest log.

"Merlin!"

"I'm here! Sorry I took so long," he rushed picking himself off the floor and quickly falling over the next log into a table.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"Well, it's not my fault your guards are being ridiculous about dispensing the wood in the stores," he said pulling himself up again.

"Didn't you say it was for the king?"

"Yes but apparently the_ Queen_ has given strict limits to everyone in the castle," Merlin said, carefully not referring to 'the Queen' as Gwen. "This includes you. You know, I think they are probably more afraid of her than you sometimes,"

Of course, Guinevere would have already thought about wood rations.

"It was just lucky that Gwaine was also there for more wood and he gave us some of his own," Merlin continued "He's got loads because he's been away for a few days on patrol and not used any of his quota yet,"

Gwaine was a good man. This must have meant Arthur had already used his quota entirely. Arthur frowned at the papers on his desk once again thought guiltily about his frivolous use of resources.

Merlin began rekindling the fire and tidying the wood pile next to the hearth. The warmth was slowly returning to the room as the flames flickered their light across Merlin's face and the haze of warmth went as far as to touch Arthur on the other side of the room.

"Don't worry," Merlin said "Percival is back tomorrow from some of the villages, he should be bringing supplies,"

Arthur was not optimistic. Everywhere was preparing for the cold. Arthur glanced at the window where the snow was already starting to build up on the glass. No one could give what they could not spare and it took a long time to prepare good dry firewood.

Not to mention more furs. Speaking of which…

"Merlin, where have you put my cloak?"

Merlin looked up from his place by the fire. "Umm…" he peered around the room briefly "Is it in your cupboard?"

Arthur glared at him "Would I be asking you if I hadn't checked the cupboard first?"

"Well, no offence Arthur but you never been the best at dressing yourself,"

"Merlin," Arthur growled. He would've thrown something at the man but the closest object was his sword and he wasn't at the point of manslaughter just yet.

"Didn't you have it with you before?" Merlin tried

"No,"

Merlin had this amazing ability to start a headache in less than sixty seconds of entering the room.

"I'll go and find it," Merlin jumped up and tripped over himself getting out of the door.

Arthur sighed and watched him stumble away.

"Wait!" he said "You haven't finished making the fire…"

It was too late, Merlin was already at the end of the corridor and around the corner.

Why? Why Merlin? He could still hire George again he supposed… But George had been so boring.

Also, and he wouldn't like to admit it, he sometimes…briefly…on the odd occasion…maybe enjoyed Merlin's company. It was just bad luck that he was the most useless servant in Camelot's history.

They had been through a lot in the years. Merlin and himself. It was an unusual relationship they shared. It was not the standard Master/servant roles and as much as this sometimes riled Arthur, he wouldn't want it any differently. A normal servant would not follow him fearlessly into battles. No armour, no weapon, no shield. He couldn't figure out if Merlin was brave or just stupid. Although, if he really thought about it, he knew it was because Merlin was just unbelievably loyal.

Arthur allowed himself a brief smile and in an uncommon bout of affection towards the servant (which he would deny later) and began making the fire up himself. While he was still poking the embers into life when something caught the corner of his eye.

It was Gwen at his door. Holding his cloak.

"You left this in the throne room," she said as she gracefully moved into the room and giving a puzzled look towards the king, struggling with his own fire. Manservant nowhere to be seen. "I thought you might need it. They say the snow will get worse tonight," she peered out the window and registered Arthur's annoyed look towards the cloak.

He stood up and accepted it from her. He decided to hide it somewhere in the room before Merlin came back and saw it. He wouldn't be able to stand that smug look when he told him where it had been found.

Gwen looked worried. He could tell that this winter was playing on her mind as much as it was his. It was looking to be a bad one. She smiled at his concerned gaze and shook her head slowly.

"So… you've put a ration on the wood," Arthur started conversationally.

"Yes. I'm sorry. I should've consulted you first but people are taking much more than they need in fear that they will not have it later," she sighed.

Arthur looked towards his ill-gotten wood pile. Why was everyone trying to make him feel guilty today?

"No need to apologise, I should've thought of it first," he mumbled. "It's late. You look tired,"

"You're right," she smiled again but it did not reach her eyes. However she did not make any movement towards the door but stayed and stared at Arthur. Something was obviously troubling her. She only looked at him like this when she had to break bad news or discuss something particularly uncomfortable.

He didn't know which he'd prefer at the moment.

"Did you want to talk about something?" he asked slowly, not really wanting to know. She looked exhausted and he had enough to think about at the moment. Least of which was where to hide this damn cloak.

She blinked and looked down at the floor. A mannerism left over from her serving days, it was probably only a habit and nothing was to made of it but it didn't stop Arthur from feeling uncomfortable every time she did something like that. There were times he'd almost caught her curtseying to him as she left the room. She'd always managed to catch herself before she did though. He must find a moment to talk to her about that.

However, he wasn't going to find out what was bothering her or start that particular conversation because Merlin burst in the room again.

"I couldn't find it," he said far too loudly "Sir Leon said that Gwen…" he stopped when he saw Gwen and Arthur standing together and, unfortunately, did not miss Arthur hiding the offending cloak behind his back. "He said that Gwen had found it in the throne room _where you had left it_," he stared pointedly at Arthur.

There was that smug look. All previous guilt vanished from Arthur and an intense desire to clout the servant over the head took over.

"Servants are meant to knock on doors before they enter a room," Arthur warned.

Merlin went outside, knocked on the open door and walked back in.

"Is there anything else that you would like me to do before you retire, sire?" Merlin said with a mock bow.

"I think I might also go to bed," Gwen said with a tired smile at Merlin and Arthur's antics. "I'll talk to you in the morning Arthur,"

She left the room as Arthur shrugged on his cloak defiantly. "You may go Merlin." He said "I'll see you tomorrow. Polish my armour before you bring me breakfast. I want it ready for training,"

He didn't really need polished armour for training but the groan he got from Merlin as he left the room was worth it.

The next few days only brought more of the cold wind from the north of the five kingdoms and the perilous lands. The snow had gotten gradually worse and servants had to regularly shovel deep snow from doorways and paths. A few more supplies had come into the castle, however, this was not going to be enough for everyone and the rationing had now been applied to food as well. This not only affected the castle but also the people within the city walls. Arguments had broken out between citizens over the withholding of meats and grain in the markets.

The city guards were having to stop several outbreaks of fights in taverns on the outskirts of the city and reports of theft were becoming more regular.

Arthur hated that his people could be reduced to this so quickly. Although he knew it was probably the minority. Camelot's people had endured far worse than a little bit of cold before. But the weaker of them had started the crumble and even the strongest would find it unbearable when their children started to starve.

He ordered the castle's supplies to be added to the main hold for the city and for rations to be improved for the people of the town and decreased for the people of the castle and citadel so that they were equal. He was not popular with the noblemen but the knights had taken it in their stride and once again Arthur felt a surge of pride in them for their strength.

Regular patrols had been sent out to the farthest villages to make sure they had what they needed and were under orders to report back what they had found.

Thankfully (due to Arthur's leniency with taxes) the outlying villages were finding it tough but assured the knights they would survive. People from the out-most reaches of the kingdom knew to build a thick skin and positive outlook on life. They were mostly isolated to the rest of the world and remarkably self-sufficient, they did not ask for much but Arthur preferred they knew that they had a king who would care if they froze to death.

And he knew, although he wished he didn't, but he knew that some of them would not survive even through their assurances. The very old and the very young would perish and he would be powerless to stop this.

He had already sent diplomats and traders to the southern kingdoms to barter for food and supplies. These kingdoms were the least affected by the cold. Unfortunately, all he got back were messages of sorrow that his allies could not help him this time. They knew that the cold was coming their way and their allegiance had to be with their own people first. This was fair, but he couldn't help but feel a little resentment.

As the days moved past slowly and coldly Arthur got less and less reports from the furthest villages. This was owing to the length of time it was taking for his men to make the journey itself. Old passages and paths through the kingdom were becoming impassable from snow and ice and the knights had to find more original and inventive ways of getting themselves to and from the people in those villages. Sometimes they were laden with more supplies that Arthur found he could realistically spare.

Eventually though, Arthur had to stop these trips to the most isolated of his people. Some knights came back to report that it was impossible to get to them anymore and some knights did not come back at all because the roads were so treacherous.

Arthur ordered that no one was to attempt the journeys anymore. He did this with a heavy heart and a prayer to whatever gods there were to care for his people so far away.

The weeks brought more snow and heavy storms. The short days did nothing to burn off the previous night's snowfall before another one began. Refugees began arriving in the city from the nearest villages and things were becoming cramped and even more difficult. People's nerves were frayed and food was short. Arthur was, again, eating Merlin's rat stew; however, he was doing so happily this time and without complaint.

His council had advised him to give a speech to the city, more of a pep talk really. He did so. He looked down at his people crammed into the courtyard, in the snow, and talked to them about endurance and bravery. He made the speech short and to the point. It was meant to be longer but there were small children peering adorably up at him… and shivering. In fact everyone was shivering and miserable. He felt like a hypocrite, lecturing them on enduring their suffering while he had his nice, thick fur cloak on his shoulders.

He immediately ordered more furs to be taken from the castles stock and issued out to the people with young families. It made him feel better but not for long.

He was not equipped to deal with this situation. He wanted so desperately to protect his people but he could not fight weather. Give him a dragon, a monster, an immortal army, anything he could physically fight with a sword and a shield. That was where his comfort zone lay. When they trained you to be a king, they really trained you to be a soldier, nothing more. Other people were there to do the thinking. It was just a shame that whenever he convened with the council members he disagreed with every one of the doddery old fools. Only Gwen at his side made any sense. He was sure if he had the knights there it would be different but they tended to be absent when it wasn't a military council.

Maybe he should change that.

Or maybe he should find younger blood for the council. Most of the members on the panel were left over from his father's reign and were finding it difficult to come to terms with some of Arthur's most controversial changes. They didn't even like the round table. Arthur proudly thought it added an air of grandiose to the room that it didn't have before.

Of course, Merlin was always in the council room to listen. He was not permitted to talk but this did not stop him from voicing his many opinions when they were alone afterwards.

Not recently though.

Recently, Merlin had been growing rather quiet.

And this was most disconcerting.

Because, although Merlin's constant chatter and stupid ideas were, for the most part, a pain in Arthur's backside, he had become quite accustomed to them. So the sudden deprivation of them was most certainly noticed.

It was on one morning that Merlin came in to wake Arthur and said "Rise and shine" in the most miserable voice that Arthur had ever heard those words muttered in that had to make a comment.

"Merlin?" Arthur said sitting himself up and rubbing his face to get rid of the sleep. "Are you alright?"

Merlin stopped and looked at Arthur gravely. He looked as though he were about to speak but instead turned around and started to set up Arthur's table for breakfast.

"This is ridiculous, Merlin," he said "You haven't said two words to me in days," He stood up and walked to the window. His heart sank again when he realised that he couldn't look out of it for ice. His feet and toes began to stiffen from the cold floor and he gratefully accepted the clothes that Merlin had appeared in front of him with. Merlin also had the good grace to look peevish for his lack of communication, at least.

"Would you…?" Merlin started but stopped again. Honestly, this was more annoying than the constant talking.

"Spit it out, Merlin," Arthur said as he struggled to get his tunic on. More speed, less haste. Arthur reminded himself.

Merlin was right, he wasn't very good at dressing himself.

"Would you mind if I took some time off?" Merlin asked softly.

Arthur yanked the rest of the tunic over his head, ignoring the ripping sound and studied Merlin for a moment. He looked pale and skinny. Obviously, he always looked pale and skinny but this was more prominent pale and skinniness than usual. His eyes were darker and his face had begun to have a hollow quality to it. His clothes hung a lot more loosely and his belt and trouser were practically falling off his hips.

The skinniness was not surprising. The lack of food was affecting everyone. Even Arthur's belt had to have been brought in a peg or two. Luckily, for Arthur, he could have afforded to lose some extra weight. Merlin never had it to begin with. It was his eyes. They had sunken a bit and his standard cheeky sparkle was missing under the shadow. He didn't look well. This bothered Arthur may than he would let on. Merlin was a servant but he was also, sort of, his friend.

Arthur realised with a jolt that he hadn't enquired how Gaius was coping. The man was old and Merlin had just as much responsibility to look after him as he did Arthur. Did he need time off to care for him?

"Is it Gaius? Is he ok?" Arthur asked

Merlin chuckled. Not the response Arthur was expecting. "No, Gaius is fine. He is being stubbornly helpful to as many people as possible. Handing out warming draughts to whoever knocks on his door."

"What is it then?" Arthur said, confused.

Merlin looked sad and haunted again. "Gwaine told me that we are no longer able to get past the ridge of Ascetir," he said "The snow and ice has piled up too high. The forest is home to many wolves now,"

Ascetir. That is right on the very Eastern edge of Camelot. It marks the border with Essetir… Ealdor. Ealdor was there. Merlin's mother.

He couldn't possibly be thinking he could do anything to help.

"Merlin, you cannot help them now," Arthur said solemnly.

Merlin looked pained for a moment. "I have to try Arthur,"

"I can't send anymore knights out, especially not into Lot's kingdom," Arthur argued "They can't get through and Camelot knights in Essetir would start a war. One we are not equipped to fight at the moment."

"I'm not asking for knights, I'm asking for some time off so I can help them through the winter," Merlin said "I don't need help. Just your permission,"

He looked like the slightest breeze would knock him down. The idiot thought he could do this without help? He'd freeze. Be eaten by wolves. Robbed by bandits. Captured by slave traders. Maybe all at the same time. No. Not happening. No time off. He'd just have to stay here this winter.

Could he really order Merlin to stay though? He paused for a moment to think. If he told him he could not go the first thing Merlin would do is to pack. Judging by the glare of defiance coming from Merlin there probably would be nothing Arthur could say that would make the man stay and do as he was told. But he couldn't let him go either. Merlin shuffled on his feet, waiting for a response.

"You realise you'll die before you even get there," Arthur said

"I might not," he said. That defiance was rearing its ugly head again. "It's not far,"

"It's not far in _good weather,_" he said "Merlin, you're looking at maybe three days or more,"

"Not if you give me a horse," Merlin grinned.

"A horse would only get eaten by the wolves along with you!" This was getting absurd.

Merlin gave him a look which said 'Are you sure you're not the one being absurd?' This only aided in making Arthur more frustrated and sent a look back saying 'No, you idiot'

"I'll be fine, Arthur," Merlin said seriously and with conviction. He had so much conviction that Arthur almost believed him for a moment but then Merlin shuddered in the cold of his chambers and the illusion was broken. He still had the same clothes as he always had on. He hadn't changed them with the changing of the weather. He hadn't even tried to find a thicker neckerchief, for heaven's sake. The boy had no clue about survival.

Although, if he thought about it. Merlin probably didn't have any other clothes.

Arthur sighed with defeat and rubbed the back of his neck thoughtfully. There was no way he'd be able to get Merlin to stay. Unless he threw him in a cell. But Guinevere might hold protest to that.

"Take a knight with you," he said finally. "One knight. Take Gwaine,"

"Thank you, sire," Merlin beamed at him. The idiot. Although he looked slightly apprehensive about the company.

"And have something to eat before you go. And take food with you. Tell Gwaine not to wear the crest on his armour, "Arthur rattled off the list "And for gods' sake, take my cloak,"

Arthur grabbed the fur cloak from his cupboard and threw it at the servant who only smiled back. He did not want Merlin to mention anything about the fact a king had just given a servant his cloak. If he did, he might take it back off him.

Merlin seemed to get the hint and had the wisdom to look mildly astonished by the gift.

"Are you going to be alright without me?" Merlin asked tentatively.

Is he going to be…? What? Merlin was the one walking off to his death in the cold wilderness and he was worried that the King would have no one to get his breakfast? Maybe he should go with him. No, that would never be allowed. Gwaine would look after him.

"I think I can manage a couple of months without you stealing food off my plate," Arthur said "Just don't get yourself killed. Servants are hard to come by, even the bad ones,"

Merlin had heard that before..

"I'll leave in the hour," Merlin nodded and examined the fine cloak he had been given.

"Send Gwaine to me before you leave," Arthur ordered as Merlin turned to walk out of the room.

"And Merlin," Arthur called after him "Don't do anything stupid, ok?"

Merlin nodded again with a smile and left the room in a quick pace.

Gwaine came up to see him almost half an hour later. He had thick travelling clothes on and a trademark Gwaine-look on his face, which betrayed the fact that he was quite looking forward to the adventure. The man had no fear. Arthur organised the amount of food that could be spared for them after speaking with Gwen about the rations. He emphasised the importance to Gwaine of this not being official Camelot mission and if he were to be captured at all, he was not a knight.

Last of all he told Gwaine that he must not let Merlin do anything Merlin-like and they should turn back if the journey became too treacherous. This was not worth their lives.

Gwaine bowed and assured him that he would not let any harm come to Merlin.

"Or yourself," Arthur reiterated

"You know me," Gwaine grinned "I always look after myself,"

Maybe he should have sent Sir Leon with Merlin. He was far more responsible.

"Sire," Gwaine said earnestly. "No harm will come to Merlin or myself. I promise you this."

Arthur stupidly believed him.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Here is the next installment._

Merlin was anxious to leave but getting Gwaine organised was like trying to herd ants. The Knight was standing in the armoury, holding two very similar swords in front of him by the hilt and glancing from one to the next. Twisting them so they both caught the light at different angles.

Merlin still wasn't quite sure how he was going to cope with the Gwaine accompanying him on the journey. His original plan was to use magic to help him survive the cold nights and to create passages where there were none. He'd have to be far sneakier and sturdier than he had originally thought. Not that Gwaine was the most observant man he'd ever known. He should've known that Arthur would not let him go without an escort. Gaius had told him as much.

His stomach growled at him and Merlin thought fondly of the meal Arthur said cook had prepared for them before they went.

"Will you just choose one already?" Merlin pleaded. Gwaine must be the most vain Knight he'd ever come across. He may even be vainer than Arthur.

Gwaine tore his gaze away from the swords for a moment to give Merlin a reprimanding look. He then went back to studying the weight and the handling of each sword individually. Then, annoyingly, picked up another sword that he had already discarded as being too 'flowery' about ten minutes beforehand. Merlin didn't know how a sword could be 'flowery' but apparently it's not a trait that is desirable in one's sword.

"I'll take this one," Gwaine decided on the flowery sword anyway

Merlin decided not to mention that this was the one that was particularly floral to the knight and jumped up to make his way to the kitchens.

"Wait," Gwaine said. He must have realised his mistake with floriated sword and went back to one that looked identical.

"Gwaine!" Merlin said exasperated "We'll lose the best part of the day,"

"You're right," Gwaine said and picked up the flower sword again and sheathed it. "Let's get some breakfast,"

Gwaine slapped Merlin on the shoulder and the smaller man almost buckled under the weight of his hand. He was thankful for the meal he was about to get, he felt like he hadn't eaten properly in weeks. He probably hadn't, come to think of it.

Merlin followed Gwaine to the kitchens and smell hit him like a brick wall as he entered the room. He stood in awe at the food on the table. Hot food. Pork and potato and leek. Plus the supplies that had been readied. Gwen stood wrapping a loaf of bread in a cloth and adding it to the top of the pile.

"Merlin," she said kindly as he entered the room "I brought you this,"

She smiled as she picked up a bundle of warm clothes. On top was a very woollen and thick neck scarf. Merlin picked up the scarf and couldn't stop himself grinning at his Queen.

"Thank you," he choked. "What are you doing in the kitchens again, Gwen?" he admonished her and she blushed in embarrassment.

"Don't tell Arthur," she said in a conspiratorial whisper. Gwaine had already sat down to polish off his plate of food with a quick gleeful rub of his hands. "Be careful, Merlin. I wish I could get you to stay," she said suddenly serious.

"I have to go," Merlin said. He thought about Ealdor a lot. He had heard rumours of the suffering that villages in the furthest reaches of Camelot were going through. Ealdor was not far from some of these villages and they did not have a king as kind as Arthur that would send supplies. The weather appeared to be at its worst there and Merlin was desperate to find out if they were coping. King Lot had probably holed himself up in his castle and kept food for himself. Merlin could go and bring them food, bring them fur, bring them warmth.

Except…

Except now there was Gwaine.

He looked down at the man happily eating his food. He would not be able to do magic for his mother with the Knight around.

Gwen looked up at Merlin and smiled understandingly. "It is your mother," she said as if in confirmation of what Merlin was trying to say. "You should go. But Merlin, please come back alive,"

"I promise," Merlin said with a smile.

"Good, because I don't think I could cope with Arthur if you didn't," she said with warning.

Gwen left the room and let Merlin sit down to eat.

He glanced up at Gwaine and he gave Merlin a reassuring grin. "Eat up," he said with a mouthful "We'll lose the light,"

Merlin complied but he was not very hungry anymore. He could not do magic in front of Gwaine. He would be no use to his mother if he could not bring magic. He and Gwaine would just be another set of mouths to feed.

This was going to be a difficult journey.

* * *

They started straight after their meal. Arthur had allowed a couple of horses for the travellers. Gaius had laden Merlin with warming draughts and both Gwen's and Arthur's generous addition to Merlin's wardrobe really made a difference in keeping out the worst of the cold.

The forests surrounding Camelot city were so familiar to Merlin he almost thought that he did not have to think about where he was going. That was until he realised how different the woods looked with such a thick layering of snow. The horses were having difficulty navigating through the deepest parts and there were several times when they had to double back and find a different way through.

Gwaine was alert and even his cheerful mood had begun to be replaced with the grimace of concentration. There was hardly a word said between the two of them.

Gwaine's horse had most of the supplies burdened on it. He was of a hardier breed than Merlin's. It was a thick and brutish looking cart-horse with broad shoulders and back. He heat seemed to steam away from its muscles. Merlin was sure it was one of the ones that like to aim a good kick at Merlin whenever he mucked out the stables.

Now, though, Merlin felt some pity for it. It was a hard-working horse and Gwaine was not light. Neither were the supplies and the ground was hard and perilous.

Merlin's horse was not fairing any better. It was a lighter breed and it was really meant for fighting rather than travelling. It would do its best but this was why Gwaine's horse had to take most of the brunt.

The hours toiled past and Merlin despaired at the slow pace. Gwaine stayed relatively optimistic, having been on several patrols in these conditions in the recent weeks. They both knew that what lay ahead was either one path leading to the mountains or one path leading to the ridge. And the reports had been certain on one thing. The ridge was not passable. At over a hundred feet high, there used to be a zigzagged pathway down but this had since been made impenetrable by snow and ice. It was the only path and usually the standard way of making it to Lot's kingdom. They had no choice but to head towards the mountains and hope they could find their way through.

Unfortunately, it soon got dark. They had made it to the edge of the woods on the opposite side to the city and were looking out at the meadows that used to hold wild grasses. They led all the way up to the closest mountain. This was when the first snow flake of the journey fell.

"We should stay under the cover of the trees tonight," Gwaine said peering up at the sky ominously.

Merlin nodded and they retreated back to a more sheltered part of the woods to set up camp. Gwaine was adept at putting up a pretty nifty shelter when he wanted to. While he worked, he seemed to recover he chirpy mood and began mocking Merlin over his ineptitude at gathering any decent firewood.

Gwaine finished and admired his handiwork. It was only a pile evergreen branches covering the space between two boulders but it looked sturdy enough for one night and they both huddled under it as the snow began to get heavier with every passing minute.

Merlin was actually quite grateful for Gwaine at that moment. The man was used to living rough and Arthur had made a good choice in him to accompany Merlin.

"I don't think I'll ever get this thing lit with the wood you got," Gwaine grumbled as he worked away at the flint next to the pitiful pile of wood Merlin had brought back.

"There is no dry wood," Merlin said defensively "You try and find some,"

"I think I have some parchment in my satchel we could use to get it going. Here, take the flint and try and work it while I get some," Gwaine ordered and struggled through the snow to where the horses were tied up under a particularly large tree.

Merlin waited until Gwaine was far enough then placed his hands over the wood.

"_Forbearnan_," Merlin whispered and smiled as the wood burst into flames. "Gwaine!" he yelled "I got it going!"

Gwaine staggered back over in disbelief and stared at the flames. "How did you do that?" He asked with relief and squeezed himself next to the fire under the shelter.

"Just lucky, I guess," Merlin shrugged.

"You're the luckiest bastard I know," Gwaine joked and punched the younger man's shoulder.

"Hey! Watch it," Merlin laughed "I'll bruise,"

Gwaine and Merlin talked like old friends again that night. It was warm next to the small fire and Gwaine had made a good shelter. They only went quiet when the wolves started to howl in the distance.

* * *

The next few days went by difficultly for Arthur.

He didn't like the replacement manservant much. He was too … good at his job. He couldn't even get away with a quick nap in the afternoon without him asking if he'd like an extra pillow. Merlin would have been too disorganised to even register that Arthur had gone back to his room let alone have paid enough attention to ask if the king would like a warm beverage to help him drift off.

Well, he felt guilty having a nap in front of the hard-working servant and he'd feel guiltier about having warm drinks so he grudgingly went without his nap most days.

He didn't realise how much he had come to depend on Merlin and their combined routine. Merlin knew when he needed him and had enough sense to know when to stay away! Sometimes.

Of course, this was unfair on the new servant. He'd only been with Arthur for a couple of days. He was not used to the King's antics. Merlin had practically been Arthur's shadow for seven years. People were not used to seeing one without the other. And Arthur was not used it being that one.

He hadn't realised how co-dependant he'd become. Was it right to say that he was actually _missing_ Merlin?

What would he do if he didn't come back?

No.

No, he was king. He needed no one.

Gwen had noticed how subdued Arthur had become since Merlin had left. She kept trying to reassure him with weather reports and good news from men on patrol around the kingdom. But good news was hard to come by this winter and she soon became quiet as well.

He was probably more dependent on Merlin than his own wife. That thought made him feel a little queasy. Gwen was amazing in her own lovely way.

But Merlin had been with him every moment of every day for years. He knew what to say and how to handle Arthur and as much as he'd hate to admit it, he was now unbelievably _worried_ about him. He should have gone with them. Like the last time they had gone to Ealdor. Arthur had stuck by Merlin then, he should be by Merlin's side now. Gwen was more than capable of running the kingdom without him for a couple of months. It wouldn't be a problem…

It would. His subjects expected him to stay with them in difficult times. He knew that.

He hated it though.

What if they were dead?

What if they were dead and he could've been there to save them?

Arthur slammed his fist down against the table in his room.

He was king. He should be allowed to do what he wanted.

Not only that. He should be able to order his servant to stay if he wanted him to.

Damn Merlin.

* * *

On the third day of their journey Merlin and Gwaine had been heading towards the mountains to a pass called Carfaer pass that supposedly led towards Essetir and would take them out of the mountains, north of Ealdor.

They were in fairly good spirits, it had become easier to guide the horses through the snow and the weather had let up over past couple of days. Also, it was nice to spend time with Gwaine. Merlin had never really realised how upbeat the Knight was and how much happier he had become since joining Arthur.

The tortured and isolated man he used to know was all but gone and a grinning buffoon of a friend was left in his place. This man had the freedom to be picky over which sword to take into battle and when his hair needed a cut. This man (annoyingly) liked to stop on long journeys to make snow angels and enjoy the winter bird song. This man made Merlin laugh more than was healthy.

Of course, Gwaine also knew when to take life seriously and he also had a keen sense for danger. Thankfully, this was constantly battling Gwaine's sense of fun otherwise the journey would be far too tense.

The biggest worry for them being the howls of the wolves following the two men wherever they went. Gwaine had taken to building bigger and bigger fires between his jokes.

Merlin had finished cooking dinner over one of these fires one night when the animal's howls stabbed through the still darkness. They sounded a lot closer than they ever had before and the two men instinctively went for their weapons.

"Are they near?" Merlin whispered.

"Could be," Gwaine grunted. He set himself by the fire again and started digging into the stew Merlin had prepared. "Although it could be the effect of this valley,"

Sound did tend to travel farther in a valley. However, Merlin had less optimistic thoughts. Another set of howls rang out, they were coming from the other direction. Further ahead in the valley.

"It sounds like they are all around us," Merlin said

"Stay near the fire tonight." Gwaine warned "Even if it starts to snow. Stay near the fire,"

"Will that be enough?" Merlin said, putting himself as close to the fire as he could without burning himself.

Gwaine shrugged with a smile.

"Well, that's reassuring," Merlin muttered with a roll of his eyes.

"Is Merlin afraid of a big bad wolf?" Gwaine mocked. "You've handled worse than some little puppy dogs, Merlin,"

Merlin smirked but peered out into the darkness anyway. Gwaine was right, they had handled worse than wolves before. Far worse. But he couldn't shake this bad feeling that was crawling it's way up his spine. He'd had it for a couple of days now and it had taken a while to put his finger on it but he'd fathomed it out now.

Magic.

There was some kind of magic being cast here. Strong magic...

Another round of howls confirmed his fears. There was something odd about these wolves. It was like Merlin could hear a language in their howls. It was a language that had structure and intensity. Merlin could almost feel like he might even be able to understand it if he stopped and listened for a while. However, every time he tried to understand a cold stab of fear shot through him and into his heart.

From the way Gwaine was giving him nervous glances he guessed the knight could sense something too.

"Yeah," Merlin said shiftily "Far worse than wolves,"

That night passed slowly, neither of the men seemed to be able to sleep for more than ten minutes at a time. Gwaine especially kept on feeling the powerful need to put more wood on the fire. This increased as the night got darker and the valley fell into almost impenetrable blackness.

After the fourth attempt at trying to get to sleep the two men ended up making a silent agreement to just stay up together, huddled around the fire.

"I didn't want to show you this until we got to Ealdor but tonight seems like a good night," Gwaine said conspiratorially turning to his pack. He fished around the inside of the bag for a little while then pulled out the unmistakable brown glass of a very large bottle of mead. Gwaine held it up to Merlin with a massive grin on his face "The good stuff. I managed to pinch it out of the kitchen when cook wasn't looking,"

Merlin laughed at the knight. "She's going to notice it's gone," he grinned "You'll find bugs in your meals for months!"

"Not if you don't tell her," Gwaine said pulling the stopper out with a practiced movement.

"I won't have to, she'll know it's you," Merlin said with certainty.

Gwaine shook his head with a smile and offered the now open bottle to Merlin. He hesitated for a moment, eyeing the stolen mead with justified apprehension. Cook was a force to be reckoned with, even with Merlin's magic.

"Go on," Gwaine laughed and shoved the bottle into Merlin's hand forcefully.

Merlin gave in and took a swig then quickly handed it back to Gwaine. Who was, at that moment, rather oddly, looking at Merlin with an uncharacteristically thoughtful expression on his face.

"What?" Merlin said gulping down his mouthful.

"You're a good man, Merlin, my friend," Gwaine blurted out with a totally unembarrassed smile "Going all this way for your mother,"

Merlin did not quite know what to say to that. So he stayed silent. Hopefully Gwaine would go back to normal soon.

No such luck. Gwaine seemed like he was in the mood for one of those talks. He reached across and took the bottle from Merlin and swigged at it.

"I'm glad I could come along to help," Gwaine said cheerfully and patted the smaller man on the back.

"Shouldn't this kind of conversation come after a lot more of that drink?" Merlin joked

"I'm serious!" Gwaine said, rebuked.

"For once," Merlin chuckled as Gwaine gave him a mock affronted look.

"I'm always serious," Gwaine said as though he were deeply insulted. He had the pouting look of someone who was trying desperately not to laugh.

Merlin smirked and grabbed the bottle off him ready to take another sip.

Then the forest came alive with howls.

They startled and jumped to their feet, peering out into the darkness in all directions. The horses reared and neighed in alarm as they tried to break free of their reigns. Even the wind picked up and started to suffocate the fire. The snow whipped around Merlin's feet.

There was no sign of anything alive or threatening. Just black. The howls subsided and died away in an echo. The reverberations coming off the mountain side made it impossible to tell where exactly the howls had come from and the silence that now surrounded them was choking and black. The fire died down until it was only a few licks of flames.

Merlin glanced at Gwaine who was still trying to somehow see into the dark outside the light of their small fire.

"Merlin?" he said "I'm starting not to like this very much,"

"No. It's not a good feeling," Merlin said.

"Are you starting to think…?" Gwaine paused for a moment, and then looked at Merlin with a grave expression "Are you starting to think that there is something strange about these wolves?"

Understatement of the century.

Merlin shrugged uselessly and tried to play dumb. It helped in these situations if you let the knights and the royalty figure sort some things out for themselves. It usually meant that he didn't have to answer awkward questions about how he knew that these wolves had some kind of strange power about them.

"What do you think of magic, Merlin?" Gwaine asked suddenly.

It took Merlin so much by surprise that he almost forgot to not look absolutely terrified by the question.

"Why do you ask?"

"I think these wolves have something of magic about them," Gwaine said sternly and re-seated himself close to the fire. "I'm never very good at understanding magic, I just wondered if you knew any more about it,"

Merlin looked quizzically down at Gwaine who in return looked innocently back at him.

"No," The lie tripped easily off his tongue as it had so many times before, the curiosity got the better of him. "Why? Did you think I would?"

Gwaine shrugged "I don't know. I only thought you might have some hidden wisdom behind that thick skull of yours," he laughed.

Merlin smiled and threw a snow ball at him in retaliation. Gwaine was just pounding together his own handful of snow when something caught Merlin's eye in the darkness and he swivelled round.

"Did you see something?" Gwaine whispered and silently got to his feet again.

"I don't know…"

The forest was empty of sounds, not even a rustle of nocturnal creatures was heard in the undergrowth. No birds or bugs stirred and they found themselves holding their breath. Merlin didn't know if it was the cold that made it so quiet, whether the animals had all died or left in the extreme temperature or if they were just as frightened as the two men were by their campfire.

Then there was one sound. It came from beyond the light of their fire and circled them so they did not know which direction to turn.

It was the thumping of padded feet in snow. Not just padded feet but padded paws. Big paws from the sound of them, not small enough to avoid being detected.

It stopped to their right and Gwaine slowly unsheathed his sword.

A low threatening rumbling floated from the dark and two little shining dots appeared and disappeared randomly in the blackness.

Then four dots appeared. Blinking on and off. Then six… then ten.

One look towards his companion confirmed his fears. They were definitely eyes, the eyes of some big animals shining in the light of their fire. They were as little orbs of moonlight dancing around them, looking towards the pair and then looking away again. The footsteps still circled them and the night became loud again as the horses voiced their discomfort and tried to escape from the tree holding them.

Twelve eyes now. Sixteen. Surrounding them

"Stay close to the fire," Gwaine murmured.

Merlin shuffled back a little but the movement caused more eyes to appear all around them and the low rumbling started again. The low, uneasy growls emanating from every side of the fire.

"Ok, don't do that again,"

Merlin nodded his reply and the growling got louder.

The horses were beside themselves and began trampling the ground with heavy hoof beats and rearing their front legs. Merlin's heart hammered against his chest in a very similar rhythm. The whites of the horses eyes shone in the dark and shot through to Merlin's own instinct to run. Very far. Very quickly.

He took one step towards Gwaine and a wolf suddenly jumped into the circle of their firelight and snapped its heavy jaws at him. A mixture of drool and blood coated its muzzle and matted the hair around its throat as it snarled at Merlin.

It was massive. It was not the size of a normal wolf, it was only just smaller than the horses. Its fur was ragged and unkempt, it stood up from its skin like thorns on a thistle. But its eyes were the main thing. Its eyes were like ice and they made him shiver to his core.

"Merlin," Gwaine whispered "Its feet,"

Its feet. Why would Merlin look at its feet when its teeth are right there. Gleaming through the mud and blood.

Merlin glanced down to the ground, not daring to move from his deathly stand-off with the beast. The ground around its feet was freezing over rapidly and the ice around it crackled its way up its leg.

But it's eyes.

They were transfixed on Merlin. And now that he thought about it, all eyes were on him. None of the wolves were paying the slightest bit of attention to Gwaine or the screaming horses.

He could feel himself growing cold. His fingers, toes, ears, nose were losing feeling and were becoming stiff. The wolf was making him feel colder than he had ever felt before.

He tried to reach for his magic to warm himself subtly but found that he could not call upon it. It had been blocked from him. His magic was receding at the same time as the cold was seeping through his body.

"Merlin," Gwaine said "Move towards me,"

The wolf that had jumped so bravely into the light had stopped growling and only a permanent silent snarl now graced its jowls. Showing its sharp teeth to Merlin in warning.

"I.." he barely got out the first syllable when the snarls and rumblings started afresh. A couple more gigantic wolves came to the edge of the light. Their ears were bent back and their eyes, as Merlin had suspected, were trained solely on him.

"They've got a real thing about you, haven't they?" Gwaine said "You carrying bacon in your pocket?"

That was the thing about Gwaine, his jokes became less appropriate the more scared he was.

Merlin didn't even want to respond, physically or verbally. The closest wolf to him would be on him in one bound if it wanted and he did not want to give it any reason to do that.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gwaine shuffling towards the fire.

One of the wolves noticed the movement and flicked it's eyes towards the man but returned to stare solidly at Merlin. He was now feeling like someone had dunked him in a cold water bath and left him to stand outside for an hour. He was trying desperately to keep from shivering.

Suddenly Gwaine leapt in front of Merlin brandishing a burning branch. He swiped it in front of the wolf's nose and it jumped back, startled and snapping its jaw in anger.

"Get back, you bastards," Gwaine shouted. He gave a few swings of his sword to be safe and then a few more choice curses.

More of the wolves began to snarl and growl with displeasure. Some of the angrier ones in the darkness began to make their presence known in the light. Wherever they trod the ground turned to ice and snow. They carried the cold where they went and also the feeling of death that came with it.

The closest wolf was now regarding Gwaine with sudden wariness and fear and Merlin felt some of the warmth return to his arms and face. Gwaine was not backing down, unfortunately, neither was the wolf. Then it pounced at him, violently snapping its jaws until they closed around the branch Gwaine was holding, ripping it from his hands.

The branch frosted over as soon as it touched the wolf's mouth and its breath extinguished the flames.

The other wolves were encouraged by this victory and stalked nearer, their combined company was having disastrous effects on their fire as it fizzled and struggled to stay burning. Merlin guessed that they only had a few moments before it gave up completely.

"On the count of three, Merlin," Gwaine said "I will attack and I want you to run. Run as fast as you can and don't look back,"

"Gwaine, I…"

"Arthur told me to protect you," Gwaine said sternly and with more nobility than Merlin had ever seen on his face before. Gwaine knew his duty and he knew what that meant. "My King told me to not let any harm come to his friend. You wouldn't want me to disobey my King, would you?"

"You won't stand a chance," The air was thick with tension. Gwaine nodded resolutely and turned his attention back to the furious creature.

"You know me," Gwaine said cheerfully "I always did like poor odds in a fight,"

Merlin couldn't just leave him there. He couldn't do it. It was signing the man's death warrant.

"One," he started

He could do something, maybe. Save them. He tried thinking of a spell. Anything. He tried to summon his magic but it was still no use. They were blocking him, preventing him from reaching his power. He looked for the source of the obstruction and found himself meeting the stare of a wolf to his left.

Panic began to settle in his gut. His magic was not there. He couldn't find it.

"Two,"

The wolf was scarred and thinner than the rest. Patches of fur were missing from its legs and shoulders. And somehow, it looked more … human than the rest. It was not growling but meeting Merlin's stare with a calculating murderous gaze. It knew it had taken his magic. It knew it could kill Merlin.

"Three!" Gwaine roared and brought his blade down on the first wolf. It yelped and went down easily.

To Merlin's shame he did as he was told and turned and ran.

He ran deliberately in the opposite direction of the scrawny wolf with its deathly stare. He slipped and leapt down the side of the valley, losing his feet in the snow and dodging trees and branches.

His breath came in short bursts and he willed his cold feet to keep going despite the aching in his knees from running downhill. He could still hear Gwaine fighting and slashing in the background but Merlin did not look round. If he could still hear him then he was still alive.

What would he do if Gwaine died? He bit back the fear and kept his legs going. He was heading for the river at the bottom of the valley, maybe he could cross it and they would not follow.

He could not hear Gwaine anymore. The only thing he heard brought a sickness to his stomach. It was the thundering of masses of paws hitting the hard frozen ground behind him. There was no sound of any fighting from his friend.

The dread for his friend clutched at his heart, his lungs burned with the exertion and his legs were jarring with the cold but he could see the river now.

It was so close.

He glanced around behind him but this was his greatest mistake. The enormous wolves were easily gaining on him with huge leaps and bounds. Their eyes were shining brightly, glinting maliciously in the moonlight. The brief lack in concentration this brought caused Merlin to trip over a root of a tree. He cursed at himself and stumbled to get up but the first wolf was already past him.

Merlin quickly changed direction away from it and started running in the direction he knew was downstream.

It was too late though. He could hear them directly behind him as they snapped at heels and leaping around him with happy snarls. It was like they were playing with him, enjoying his fear and grief.

He met the bank of the river but soon he was brought down with a thud as the paws of a wolf rammed into his back. He heard the crack in his ribs rather than felt it, the wind was knocked out of him as his head connected with the icy ground

Powerful jaws closed around his shoulder and the teeth sunk deep into his flesh. The pain was intense but the cold was worse. His whole arm went numb in seconds and he cried out in agony. The teeth released him but the rest of the pack did not let him scramble far away before another set of teeth grabbed his leg and his foot became useless in response.

Blood splattered the pristine white snow and terror held Merlin in its icy grasp. The growls of the wolves surrounding him. He couldn't understand why they hadn't just killed him yet.

There was a bark and clambering of paws and claws behind him and the other wolf let go of his leg in a yelp

Merlin rolled onto his back so he could see what was happening. The scrawny wolf had fought the other off of him and now was bringing his own attention back to the young warlock.

The pain in his leg and shoulder was intense and unbearable. Where the teeth had entered him burned like fire but the numbness in his arm and leg was throbbing and aching as if the limbs had been severed from him and he was just feeling a shadow of them.

The blood was oozing from his shoulder and he could feel the loss affecting his head. It swam and his vision blurred and spun around him.

The scrawny scarred wolf stalked closer to him. It was regarding him with untamed curiosity.

Merlin was half fascinated, half horrified. Its scarred face was covered in blood and ice. Was that his blood? Or was it Gwaine's?

It got close enough to Merlin to look him squarely in the eyes by placing one massive paw on his chest, pinning him to the ground. The other wolves now seemed content to ignore them both and squabble between themselves. Some had even found satisfaction in just lapping Merlin's blood up off the snowy ground and Merlin fought to swallow the bile that rose in his throat as he watched them.

The first tendrils of unconsciousness began to catch the edges of his mind. He fought as hard as he could to keep his eyes open. He had to stay awake. He had to get back to Arthur alive. He'd promised, after all.

Plus the oaf would never survive a day without him.

The wolf eventually removed its weight from Merlin's chest and barked and snapped at the other wolves. The others were obviously frightened of this one wolf. Possibly the alpha of the pack? They yelped and whined and to Merlin's surprise started heading off in a run. They were leaving him one by one until only their leader was left. His cold eyes boring into Merlin's own.

Then with a howl to the sky he also left in a heavy run.

Merlin felt like he could finally breathe again.

Immediately he felt the comforting warmth of his magic pooling in his gut again. He didn't realise how helpless he had been without it. He'd never been so frightened before. So useless.

Gwaine.

Oh Gwaine. His grief clouded over him, he could be dead or at least bleeding to death just like him. Merlin felt the tears burning in his eyes but blinked them away again.

Now was not a time let misery get the better of him. If there was even a small chance that Gwaine was alive then he needed Merlin's help.

He brought his free hand up to his shoulder and covered the wound with his fingers. Healing magic was never his strong suit and it always was less effective on himself but he had to try. He whispered the words that Gaius had taught him and sighed in relief as the healing power seemed to channel through his fingers and swarm the injury, instantly soothing the burning. The numbness remained in his arm but the bleeding had stopped and a couple of the shallower punctures had healed to leave only small scars.

His back protested as he began to lift himself up. His ribs stabbed into his sides and he guessed that he might have broken a couple. He battled down the nauseous feeling that building again in his throat and placed his hand over the gaping wound on his leg. Again, he managed to stop the bleeding and make it look significantly smaller but the numbness still engulfed his foot.

The ribs were a bit more difficult. He attempted to find the exact ribs that were hurting him but they eluded him. The whispered healing spell was less effective and took the energy right out of him. The overwhelming urge to sleep clouded his head and made him desperately want to close his eyes and just curl up in the snowy bank of the river.

Gwaine needed him. He forced himself to stay alert and struggled to put his weight on his good leg and push himself up with his uninjured shoulder.

The pain shot through him and made him dizzy, he swayed but steadied himself again.

He gritted his teeth together and started to stagger back up the valley to where he had left Gwaine fighting for both of their lives.

The climb back up the hill was torturous. Merlin had not done as well as Gaius would have if he had been there to help with his injuries. The pain stabbed at him and made him stumble and fall several times. Not to mention that it was so dark that he couldn't see where he was putting his feet. The moonlight had seemed to have departed with the wolves, he didn't even know if he was going in the right direction any more.

He was just looking up to the stars to get his bearing when his ankle jarred between two roots and brought him down to the floor.

It was enough. It was too much. The sweet blissfulness of unconsciousness clouded him and he could not fight it any longer.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you very much for the reviews. It's really nice to know that people are enjoying it. I have got a few chapters lined up for this so dont worry about not getting an ending. _

Bird song and sunlight filtered in between the thick branches of the forest. The wind was cold but gentle and it slowly whispered to Merlin, tickling his hair against his face.

He blinked and gradually prised his eyes open, squinting against the glare of bright sunlight reflected in snow. It had obviously snowed more in the night after Merlin had passed out. He had to shake the new snow off his head and legs. Disoriented and confused, he tried to remember what had happened and how he had ended up so far from the camp.

Then his shoulder reminded him in the most brutal way as he tried to use it to pick himself up

"Argh!" he cried and immediately fell to the ground again. His foot was no better, just a useless weight to keep his leg from working efficiently.

He leant his back against the stump of a nearby tree and took note of his surroundings. He didn't know how far he had run from the camp and he was starting to feel like his wasn't so sure of which direction it was in now.

Guilt tormented him. Was Gwaine alright? He shouldn't have run. He should've stayed and fought.

Merlin closed his eyes and focused all his thoughts on the knight. He remembered their last conversation and the resigned smile on his face. Every feature of his face imprinted on Merlin's memory. He had to find him. He felt the power pool again inside him and his eyes flashed gold.

A silvery trail flickered in the snow, showing him the way back to the camp. He had been veering too far to the right last night.

Merlin tried, once more, to get himself to his feet. The cold in his joints was joining forces with his wounds to try and bring him back down to the hard earth. He steadied himself against the stump and managed to eventually balance on his own two feet even if he could not feel one of them…

He really hoped this numbness wasn't permanent.

As he staggered after the silvery trail, hopping on one foot and just using the other as crutch, he began to get a good pace. It helped that the strength had seemed to return to him after the events of the night before.

He managed to find the camp. It was a cleared area of ground with a blackened fire pit in the middle of it. The flames had been long extinguished. The horses were gone, their leads had snapped at the tree. Merlin felt his heart leap to his throat as he noticed the amount of blood coating the ground. There were a few carcases of slain wolves littered at the centre of the clearing. His breath caught as he saw the body of a man among them.

Shuffling forward, Merlin rushed as fast as he could towards the body. He pushed the man onto his back and gasped as an unfamiliar and unexpected face looked back at him. It wasn't Gwaine. Thank the gods it wasn't Gwaine.

Merlin had never felt such relief at seeing a dead body before. However, the appearance of a strange man, obviously killed in this fight, puzzled him. He hadn't been at the camp when Merlin was there.

The man was large and muscular, he wore furs with leather armour on top. His face was rough and bearded. The features that weren't covered in hair were angular and sharp. And his eyes were icy blue. They stared lifelessly up at him and made him shiver.

Then there were his teeth, poking unassumingly from beneath his cracked lips. They were pointed and coated in blood and mud.

He knew he should call himself crazy but he knew this man was the wolf who had first snapped his jaws at Merlin. They were one and the same. The more he looked at him, the more he recognised him.

Hadn't he known that when he looked at the scrawny wolf. They were no animals, they were men, cursed men. Angry men.

Merlin looked around for any other signs of Gwaine. On the far side of the clearing was a thick trail of blood leading away. From the marks on the ground it looked like something had been dragged away into the forest.

He followed the trail and fast as he could. Limping and slipping as he went. It lead to another man that had Gwaine's sword jutting out of his chest. But still no sign of the man himself.

He could only bring himself to belief that Gwaine had somehow escaped and was making his way back to Camelot. He would be safe there. Right now, Merlin had to find out more about these wolves. They were enchanted and by a powerful magic. A powerful magic that Merlin could not let go unexplored and unchallenged.

They also seemed inexplicably connected to this fierce winter than Albion was experiencing. While this pack was around, Merlin doubted that the winter would ever pass and this meant that people, not just his mother and her village, were going to perish in the extended cold.

The wolves had run off downstream after they had left him. This was the direction he would head.

* * *

Arthur had begun to get more and more unbearably grumpy as the week drew on. He was more than snappish towards his poor new servant. Gwen had been on the receiving end of one of his misdirected rants, that was, until she had put him back in his place and sent him to his chambers like a small misbehaving child. She'd sent him there with strict orders to not show his face until he was ready to be civil.

Well, he wasn't ready, so his chambers were where he currently found himself.

He lay on his bed, fully clothed and staring at the ceiling. He'd sent the manservant away with a well-aimed projectile jug about an hour beforehand.

The poor boy was so shocked at having a jug thrown across the room at him that he scampered out without even asking Arthur if there was any more he could do for him before he went. Merlin wouldn't have batted an eyelid at a jug projectile; Arthur smirked ruefully at the thought. Then frowned.

He had decided the other day that he did not like Merlin being away and he was not going to allow it any more after his servant had come back.

He hadn't realised how much the man's absence would affect him. It felt like someone had removed his right eye for the winter. His peripheral vision was awful and depth perception was non-existent. Merlin had always been the one to give him messages about the people of the town and give thoughtful insight into the future and now he had neither.

Not to mention, the man was very good at getting him out of a bad mood when he needed to.

Basically Merlin was a part of him now. He didn't know when this had happened but it had. The idiot was his best friend and his departure was distressing him greatly. Not that he'd ever admit this to anyone. Especially Merlin.

He briefly considered the wisdom of putting his faith and well-being so solely in one man then disregarded the thought. Merlin was the one man that he could actually trust in completely.

There was a sudden thud outside the room that startled Arthur and the door to his chambers opened abruptly when a guard came through.

"Sire," he addressed him with a bow "Sir Gwaine has returned, he is injured,"

"Injured?" Arthur said jumping to his feet and heading towards the door in a flash

"He is with Gaius, my lord. He has asked for you," the guard reported but Arthur was already on his way.

He practically ran down the steps of the castle and out towards the physician's quarters. His mind was going a hundred miles an hour. Why had he come back? Was Merlin with him? Why was he injured? What had happened?

The door to Gaius' chambers slammed open on its hinges as Arthur barrelled into the room. He immediately regretting the over dramatic entrance when he came face to face with Gaius' raised eyebrow.

"Where is he?" he demanded

"Merlin's room,"

Arthur shot across the floor and opened the door to Merlin's room in a less destructive way. Gwaine was propped up against the wall next to Merlin's bed with his arm in a sling. His torso was also bound in bandages and Arthur could see what he recognised as punctures made by teeth around his throat.

Gwaine opened his eyes when he heard the king enter the room.

"What happened?" Arthur asked

"We were attacked, two days ago," Gwaine said, his voice was scratchy and his lips were cracked and looked sore. "Wolves,"

"Where's Merlin?"

A look of pure guilt washed over the usually cheerful knight's features.

"I don't know," he replied "I told him to run while I fought them but after the first couple were killed by my sword they just seemed to ignore me and focus entirely on him. Nothing I could do would draw their attention. They were fixated on him. I attacked one wolf that was slower to run after him than the others but I was too slow and then it had me by the neck….. I lost Merlin. I couldn't find him again, I looked but it had snowed and his tracks had gone. I decided to get help and make my way back here," Arthur listened carefully but soon the pounding in his heart became louder than Gwaine's words. "Sire? They weren't normal wolves,"

"What do you mean?"

"The first one I killed. It…he…he transformed into a man with his dying breath," Gwaine said "It was sorcery,"

Arthur brought his hands up to his face and tried to steady his breathing. He had to stay calm and in control.

"I'll get the knights together," he said "We'll ride as soon as we are ready,"

"I'll come too," Gwaine said already sitting himself up.

"No," Arthur said "Your injuries are too great,"

"Sire," he said "I promised you I'd bring him back. I'd like to keep that promise. Anyway, you'll need me to guide you,"

Arthur sighed and tried not to feel angry at Gwaine. It was not his fault and he knew it was just misallocated anger at himself. He should never have let them go in the first place.

"Please, sire," Gwaine tried again "I can be ready to go with you as soon as you need me,"

"Fine," Arthur complied "But you are not to fight, you are only to guide us. Get Gaius to strap you up so you can keep yourself upright on a horse,"

He left as swiftly as he had entered. Barking orders at the guards and the nearest knights to ready themselves. Arthur was going to right this wrong. He should have known that something like this would happen; the man seemed to attract trouble wherever he went. That or he was too stupid to get out of the way in time.

In the back of his mind was the unwelcome thought that, although Merlin seemed to be the luckiest man he knew, even he would not be able to outrun a pack of wolves. But Gwaine said he had not found him again. This meant that there was no body, no body meant no proof and as long as there was no proof that Merlin was truly dead Arthur would cling to whatever small hope there was of him being alive. And finally, that meant, the idiot… his friend needed rescuing.

Arthur tried to battle the rising panic in his gut that his friend was already gone and there was nothing he could do for him. He had to believe otherwise.

"Sire!" Sir Leon crossed the courtyard in a jog, "I have received word. The knights will be ready within the hour,"

"Who do we have that is not on patrol?" Arthur asked sternly

"Elyan, Percival, Kay, Geoffery, myself and…Gwaine," Leon reported. "Will he be coming?"

Arthur rolled his eyes "It's Gwaine, he'd come even if I ordered him not to,"

"Yes sire," Leon smirked.

"That's all," Arthur said finally and made his own way to the armoury to put on his armour and fetch his sword.

They were fully equipped and mounted up in time for the sun to hit its midday point. Arthur looked up gratefully to the sky for its good weather. The days had been getting slightly warmer although it would take a good few days of sunshine for all the snow to melt as the nights were still fiercely cold.

Gwen had been just as worried as Arthur when he had told her the news and she didn't like the idea of staying behind while he went out to search for Merlin. She understood though, she had known Merlin longer than he had after all and she knew how much Arthur cared for his manservant even if he didn't know it himself. She would stay behind and look after Camelot while he searched.

Arthur looked around at his knights strapping the last of their kit onto the horses. Percival was helping Gwaine with his sword and steadied the other man on his horse.

Gwaine was looking pale and ill. He must have lost a substantial amount of blood. Gaius had said as much, the old man was surprised he'd even made it back to Camelot alive. The man must have been made of stronger stuff than Arthur had realised. But as he looked at him now he wondered at Gwaine's wisdom in coming with them. He looked exhausted and thinner than he had when he had left. There was sadness but also an anxious confusion in his eyes. Arthur had a feeling that Gwaine had taken it badly when he had found he could not find Merlin again after the attack. He knew that he himself wouldn't have been able to make that decision. The one to either stop searching for his friend and return home for help or continue to look and possibly die from his own injuries and exposure. Gwaine had made the right choice and he was a brave man for it.

Arthur nodded to him and he returned the nod with the assurance that he was ok.

"Are we ready?" Arthur turned to Sir Leon

"Yes sire,"

"Then we'll ride,"

* * *

Merlin woke up with his face in the snow again. It had been couple of days now and his injuries were not getting much better as he travelled downstream. He groaned and slowly tried to take in where he was and what was hurting. He had passed out from the pain in his ribs again and they were still screaming in protest as he lay there. He'd never been that good at internal injuries, it was always more difficult to heal something you couldn't see. Give him a good knife or arrow wound any day over this.

From the position of the sun, he guessed he must not have been unconscious for too long, there was still a lot of the day left. Not that he had been getting that far. His leg was beyond useless although he was starting  
to feel the stabbing stinging sensation of pins and needles in his foot as the nerves started coming alive again. This could only be taken as a good sign. Some feeling was better than no feeling after all.

The cold was starting to seep into his bones and his joints were stiff. He lay in the snow for a moment and wondered if he should just stop fighting and go to sleep again.

He closed his eyes.

Then a sound from across the river made him open them slowly.

On the opposite side of the frozen water was one lone wolf staring at him with cold eyes. It was not one that he immediately recognised from the attack a couple of nights ago but he guessed it had probably been there. It was larger than the usual size for a wolf and its eyes were ice blue plus it looked at Merlin with a very human expression of fear and dangerous curiosity.

It turned quickly and ran up the bank and off into the forest on the other side.

Merlin struggled up onto his feet again. There was no time to sleep if he was to find out what was going on here. The pull of dark and powerful magic was calling to him

He staggered to the river and tentatively placed his good foot on the ice. It seemed solid. But he was not what you could call stable on his feet at the moment.

His gritted his teeth and hobbled forward in defiance. Of course, he instantly slipped and crashed down onto his injured shoulder.

"Argh!" Merlin cried in frustration and pain. If Arthur were here he'd have found out where the wolves had been coming from and saved the day by now. With a little help from Merlin, of course. Merlin did not like his little solo adventure very much right now.

He brought himself to his knees and thought it might be better if he just tried crawling across. There was less distance to fall if he slipped that way. The ice was cruel on his knees and elbows but he made it across without any more injuries and without falling though the ice so Merlin categorised this as a successful venture overall.

The wolf tracks were clear and pointed him in a very definite direction northwards up the mountain side. He considered it safe to return to his shaky feet again and limped forward in determination.

The mountain on this side of the river was a harsh terrain and unforgiving as it carried him further upwards. Thankfully the snow held off, although clouds were looming threateningly in the distance. He could only follow the wolf's track while they were still clearly visible in the snow and a fresh snowfall would just leave Merlin lost and cold again. He willed himself to move faster.

As the day continued onwards the incline of the hill became very challenging and rockier. The wolf's tracks became harder to follow through the rubble of the mountain and the higher he went, the colder he became.

The sun began to sink behind the neighbouring mountain and those ominous clouds had all but filled the sky. Merlin spotted a sheltered patch under a collection of trees and headed for it. He reached them just in time for the first snowflake to touch his hair.

He fell down next to a tree and welcomed the rest. He'd just have to find the way tomorrow without the help of the wolf tracks. He can't be far now, he could feel it within himself. The magic was strong and he found that it was easier to perform spells here. He tested this out with a quick warming spell and sighed in relief as the warmth flooded out from his chest with the glow of his eyes. It didn't seem enough though, he was sick of being cold and sick of the numbness in his injured limbs.

"_Hléownes_," He muttered. The blood that left his heart was instantly hot as it surged around his body. His face flushed and his stomach hurt but his arms and legs, fingers and toes became warmed as if he had just sat down next and very large bonfire.

This may have been a slight overkill. Merlin hadn't meant the spell to be this effective. After all, he hadn't wanted to sit there sweating and wanting to take his jacket off. It had done the trick though, his arm came to life and his leg and foot started to feel delightfully normal again.

Then he began to regret the spell. He began to regret it quite a lot. As the feeling returned to his limbs, the feeling also returned to his wounds. And they were unbelievably painful.

"Damn," he gritted his teeth and tried to make himself breath slowly as his willed his body to cool down to a normal temperature again.

After the initial pain subsided he checked himself over properly for the first time in two days. He gave himself some light as the evening drew in and studied his condition. His clothes were encrusted with dried blood and he was pretty sure that he was not going to like the look of the bite mark on his shoulder.

He carefully removed his jacket and peeled the neckerchief that Gwen had given him off his neck. It was covered in blood and dirt. He felt a shot of sadness for it. He hardly ever got new ones and this one had hardly lasted a week before it was decommissioned. They were normally ok for at least a month before a trip with Arthur had meant he'd ripped it or it was lost in a struggle with some bandit or it was used as an impromptu tourniquet for his wounds. Then he realised that he must have also lost Arthur's cloak with the disappearance of the horses. He won't let that one go when Merlin gets back. The one piece of clothing he'd ever lent Merlin and he's lost it already.

His current clothes weren't in much better condition. They were torn and dirty and not smelling very fresh. Gwaine and he had avoided changing clothes due to the fierce cold. But now his shirt was ripped and it was easy to take in the extent of the bite wound. The size and shape of the jaw and teeth were easy to make out. Merlin determined with sickening realisation that if the animal had wanted to, it could have easily applied more pressure and pulled and then he would have found himself less one arm. He didn't doubt it wouldn't have had the strength to do it either.

For some inexplicable reason, they seemed to have wanted him to stay alive. So what was the attack for? To test him? To just play with him? To warn him away?

The punctures in his skin were healing but still open and weeping and the veins around them were black. He tried to heal them further with a spell but wounds inflicted by magical creatures were a lot more stubborn. He checked his leg but this injury looked less severe, again it was less of an attack to really incapacitate and more of a little nibble.

Next were his ribs. He clocked the deep angry bruise straight away when he lifted his shirt and was happy that he could finally pinpoint the broken bone and mend them without trouble at last.

He sat back with a contented smile on his face, lit a fire close to him with the wave of his hands and settled down.

The rest was short-lived.

Howls.

And they were very close by.

He put the fire out and let his eyes adjust as they peered into the semi-darkness of late evening. I didn't take long for him to find them. Their hulking great forms were slowly trailing up the hill towards him, their eyes were pinpoints of light in their black silhouettes. They had definitely seen him and smelt him as he felt the familiar cold in his core as they all, one by one, fixed their gazes on him.

He moved quickly, pulling his jacket on with one arm. He had to get away. He couldn't run downhill because they had all spread themselves out beneath him. He had to move upwards. He scanned to incline before him, deathly aware of the subtle sounds of the large stalking predators beneath him. The easiest way up was a path that had been cut into the hill but as he looked ahead his eyes met with the scarred and scrawny wolf. Although Merlin was sure that their intention was not to kill him he also didn't like the idea of them chewing on his leg again either.

He had no choice but to go the other way, he began to run and thanked the gods that he'd been able to bring the feeling back to his leg even if it was aching terribly now. He waited to hear the sounds of paws thundering after him but it didn't come. He didn't look back until he had made it up the steepest part of the hill and came to a meadow that mercifully levelled out.

They were still behind him but still stalking as if they were content to just watch him run. He didn't understand. What did they want from him?

His breathing was heavy and his heart was racing. He tried to summon his magic, the combination of the way the wolves affected his magic and the strong concentration of magic in the area seemed to balance each other out and he found his magic more easily than before. Maybe they could sense this.

Maybe he was not some poor hapless prey now. Maybe he was more their equal.

They came nearer but in a more cautious manner. He stepped towards them and they stopped and began to growl in warning.

They were definitely more afraid of him today.

He quickly counted fifteen wolves. About the same amount as before, maybe a few less. He could see the scarred wolf at the front of the pack, ears bent back and eyes wide as he studied Merlin.

"Hello," Merlin said. It was worth a try, after all. It never hurt to have a little friendly interaction before dinner. They did not react well to it. They growled and snapped and surged forward until the scarred wolf snapped back at them and they stopped.

Merlin had taken a few steps backward in surprise but he was none the wiser about what it was he was meant to do. He felt a strong urge to try and help them but then also to run away. It was obvious now that some of the wolves did actually want to kill him, they had a murderous glint in their cold eyes, but, what he assumed was the alpha male, was holding them back.

The leader had gotten the closest to him until it was only about ten feet away. The whole pack was alive with nervous growls and snarls. The alpha male snapped its large jaws at him in a kind of half-bark and Merlin was reminded painfully of the bite on his shoulder and the power of those jaws.

It pounced forward and Merlin stumbled quickly backwards while it retreated again itself.

Merlin couldn't help feel like he was playing a game that he didn't know the rules to. They were obviously expecting him to do something.

The leader jumped again and got closer, snapping at Merlin's ankles.

He moved backwards but didn't break the staring contest he was having with the wolf.

Suddenly a wolf from ranks of the pack broke out and pounced with murderous determination right for Merlin. Before he could think, Merlin held out his hand pushed the animal back with the force of his magic.

This, as it turned out, was a very bad thing to do.

The rest of the pack turned to look at their fallen comrade and then angrily heaved forward. The alpha could not keep them at bay with his growls and snaps this time and Merlin felt that this was a very good moment to run.

He turned and sprinted as fast as he could manage with the wound in his leg and this time there was no mistaking the pounding of the paws following him.

He crossed the meadow and began to turn right up another hill. A wolf jumped in front of him and snapped at him. He turned around and ran to the left where they had left him a gap to escape.

He started to understand now. They could easily run him down and kill him but instead, he was being herded. He'd seen this at home in Ealdor when the sheep were directed by the dogs to the pen. The dogs snapped at the sheep's hooves until they went in the direction they wanted it to. They were taking him somewhere.

He didn't know if he liked this any better than them wanting to kill him but as he had wanted to find out where they had come from when he first began following them he couldn't really decide not to let them herd him where they wanted. It was just that he couldn't shake the feeling that he was still being played with. Especially as now that he seemed to understand what they wanted they'd become a lot happier. The growling had stopped and seemed a lot more that dogs chasing a squirrel. Panting and snapping playfully at his heels.

The running didn't stop through the rest of the night. They wouldn't let him rest or slow down or the growling would start again in earnest. His leg thrummed with pain and his foot gave out a couple of times. One wolf came close to taking another chunk out of his leg when he fell once. He considered fighting back with his magic but his curiosity for where they were taking him and the very obvious fact that he was very much outnumbered kept him back. He could maybe fight off one wolf but ten or more was pushing it. So he ran with the pack and he felt strangely akin to them. Flitting through the woods as if it were his home, as if they were his family.

Eventually they came to a clearing in the woods and he heard the wolves stop their chase behind him. He slowed down and turned to watch them all stop at the edge of the clearing, panting and shaking the snow out of their fur.

He hadn't noticed the snowfall much when the wolves had started chasing him but now they had stopped he did notice that it had got heavier.

"So…where now?" he asked. They all looked at him at once but didn't growl this time.

The alpha male came forward again menacingly. Before Merlin could react it had jumped and brought him to the ground with a thump. He hit his head forcefully against a rock in the field and the world went black.


	4. Chapter 4

_Thanks to those who have reviewed again. I really hope you are enjoying it._

Merlin came back to consciousness again and felt an overwhelming empathy for Arthur who had been knocked out more times than Merlin could count. He was started to know what that felt like. His head felt like it had been cracked open and then hastily sewn back together again. He could feel the blood on the back of his neck from what he could only assume was a nasty looking head wound.

He also noted that this time he was not face down in the snow but actually propped up against a cold, damp stone wall with no clue as to where he was. There were no windows, the room was only lit by torches.

It was difficult to make out his surroundings at first, his vision was blurry and the point where his head had hit the ground was throbbing greatly. In fact all his wounds were making themselves known in the most painful way. The run had not done him any good at all.

It was a grand room, very ornate and a lot like the throne room in Camelot with a grand chair placed in the middle of the floor on a pedestal. Merlin had been placed to one side, next to a wall. He now realised why as he studied the shackles on his wrist and the points where the chains attached to the stone. The whole room was stone, dark stone like granite or some kind of black marble in places. The room had windows but they did nothing to illuminate the space. The glass had been covered in ice, or maybe it was ice. It was cold enough in here. Merlin watched his breathe form in front of him as he took short and sharp gasps. His ribs were hurting him again, he obviously hadn't done a perfect job with his healing spell. He sat and wondered if he should try and escape or just wait for his captors.

He didn't have to wait long before the grand double doors at the end of the room and a very tall and very beautiful woman glided through.

They were always beautiful, weren't they?

She was pale and slim, the gaunt features of her face stuck out at all angles but her cheekbones and full lips gave the impression of her once being an even greater beauty. Hers eyes now held a few wrinkles and her hair hung limply. It was long and white-blond hair that flowed over her shoulders and to her waist. Her eyes were ice blue like the wolf's at her side.

She wore a crown made of diamonds and was dressed regally. Merlin could only assume that she was a woman of great importance or had been once. Everything about her seemed dull and worn. She regarded him closely then crossed the room to stand in front of him.

"Who are you?" she asked sternly

"Who are you?" he asked back

The wolf at her side growled fiercely at him and he noticed it was his old friend, the scarred and scrawny alpha.

"Peace," she commanded and the wolf calmed down. "My pets have brought you to me, they seem to think that you would be of value. They say you have magic. Is it the same magic I have been sensing recently in the area? How much power do you have?"

"How much magic?" Merlin said confused

"Yes boy!" she snapped infuriated "Are you the source of the powerful magic I have been feeling?"

She began to pace and stamp across the stone floor in a frustrated pace.

"Why?" Merlin asked. He didn't get a very good feeling from this woman, she seemed crazed and not in total control of herself. "What do you need it for?"

"Winter!" she shrieked as if it was obvious "We must have winter. I need the winter,"

* * *

Arthur and the knights had reached the camp where Gwaine and Merlin were attacked. The bodies from the attack were covered in a thin layer of snow now and there was no sign of the fire that had been there before. It had started to snow the night before and Arthur and his men were growing tired. He had set a demanding pace and through the difficult terrain and this had been tough work for the knights and their horses.

But he wasn't going to stop now.

"Which way did he run?" Arthur turned to Gwaine.

He was half on his horse. The man was deathly pale and his eyes had glazed over slightly with pain. Percival had positioned his horse next to him just so he could give a steadying arm to his friend.

"Sire, he needs rest," he said on Gwaine's behalf even as the other man tried to wave off his concern.

Arthur looked at Gwaine grimly and nodded his consent.

Percival immediately dismounted to help Gwaine do the same. The rest of the knights followed suit and started unwrapping rations to eat quickly while Arthur remained on his horse.

"Ten minutes, sire?" Gwaine said from where he had fallen to the floor with exhaustion. "We'll move again soon,"

Arthur dismounted and made his way to one of the bodies on the ground. He studied it carefully; the man looked wild even in death, with a thick matted beard and hair. He didn't look like he had slept under a roof in all his life.

"Do you know where they had come from?" he asked Gwaine.

"Their howls had followed us all the way from Camelot. We just assumed they were normal wolves that had been driven closer to people in desperation to find food," he said solemnly.

"They have claws for fingernails," Leon said looking at another body.

"These bodies were all wolves when I left," Gwaine said uneasily

"The magic is still present even after death?" Arthur said disgusted. These men had obviously been corrupted by magic in life, would it not leave them to rest when they died? Would the evil of magic even follow them into the afterlife?

"It seems that way…" Gwaine said ominously.

Arthur turned hesitantly away from the dead man and looked towards Gwaine. He was collapsed on the floor and panting gently. His wounds were obviously affecting him greatly as he clutched the arm that was in a sling against his body. Percival was bringing a water pouch to his lips every so often, encouraging him to drink. Gwaine closed his eyes and put his head back.

"Gwaine, you are not to go any further." Arthur ordered "Percival, will you stay with him until we return?"

Percival nodded but Gwaine sat up to argue. It was a movement that he regretted instantaneously as he turned to his side and threw up what little food he had eaten that day.

Arthur felt guilty and suddenly very concerned for his knight. His concern grew tenfold when Gwaine opened his eyes and ice blue orbs stared back at him.

All the knights kicked into action, taking a step back from their friend and drawing their swords in defence.

"It's only a bit of vomit guys," Gwaine said confused and hurt.

Arthur relaxed a bit and Percy went back to the other man's side.

"No, Gwaine… it's your eyes," Arthur began but didn't quite know how to finish. It was not something that could be easily explained

"My eyes?" Gwaine said puzzled. His blue eyes anxious, passing his gaze from man to man looking for reassurance. As they passed over Arthur for a final time he felt a shiver pass over his spine. "What do you mean?"

Then Arthur spotted something else. "Gwaine, show me your teeth," he ordered

"What?"

"Just do it,"

Gwaine pulled back his lips in a grotesque smile. Every one of his normally white and immaculate teeth had become pointed and sharp. They were, of course, still white and immaculate. It was Gwaine after all.

From the group intake of breath, Gwaine knew something was definitely wrong and slowly ran his tongue over the front of his teeth.

"My teeth?" he whimpered "They're a lot pointier than they are meant to be, aren't they?"

Arthur nodded slowly then started to pace as he thought of what to do. They couldn't leave him here now. They couldn't leave him to get gradually taken over by this curse. But they couldn't really take him with them either. What if he changed completely and went against them? What if he killed them all?

"Do they still look alright?" Gwaine asked and Percival chuckled beside him. "I'm serious. I'm very concerned about dental hygiene,"

Arthur smiled. It seems they hadn't lost Gwaine yet.

"Right, Gwaine. Listen to me carefully," Arthur said suddenly and crouched down in front of his knight. "Everything is going to be alright. We're going to find out how to help you but you need to keep hold of yourself. Fight this curse, keep true to yourself and keep true to your friends. We will take you with us and help you,"

"You have my undying loyalty, sire," Gwaine said gravely but Arthur could hear the twinge of fear sneak into his voice.

"Hold in there," Arthur patted the man on the shoulder "Now, which way did Merlin run? If I know Merlin he will have run right into the heart of the trouble,"

Gwaine pointed downhill and Arthur motioned for the group to remount. He nodded towards Percival and a silent understanding passed between them. Percival would be on Gwaine-watch for the rest of this quest.

They travelled downhill all the way to the frozen river. Arthur made the decision to go downstream out of instinct more than anything else. It was only a few minutes before he came to a patch of ground that had been greatly disturbed. It had obvious signs of a scuffle with snow disturbed and earth distressed and mixed with the ic.. He jumped down from his horse and brushed at the thin layer of snow with his glove.

Blood.

He cleared some more of the new snow.

A lot of blood.

Arthur swallowed back the lump it brought to his throat. Could someone survive losing this much blood? He didn't really know. He brought a hand to his mouth and rubbed his chin in thought. There was still no trace of a body. He had to cling to this one hope.

"Merlin is stronger than he looks, sire," Elyan said, startling Arthur out of his reverie.

"I know," he was shocked to hear his own voice crack as it did. If Merlin wasn't dead then he was obviously gravely injured. He hated thinking about his most loyal friend suffering this alone. Dying alone. "Come on, we'll go further downstream. There's more evidence of animal tracks continuing onwards."

For the rest of the day they followed the river downwards until they had to stop when the sun abandoned them.

They cleared the snow away from a group of trees and made camp.

Gwaine had grown very silent since passing the pool of blood upriver. Arthur knew he must be feeling a lot of guilt for leaving Merlin, Percival had taken it upon himself to keep the other man talking as much as possible, which was difficult for Percy as he wasn't the most talkative of people in the first place.

Arthur made his way over to them and quietly asked Percy to leave them.

"How are you doing?" he asked Gwaine once Percival had left.

"I've been better…" he grimaced, panting with the pain. His ice-blue eyes were bright in the dark but the bite on his neck was dark and foreboding in comparison. He moved to clutch at his injured arm and Arthur unhappily noticed his fingernails for the first time. Claws.

"Are you still with us?" Arthur probed.

Gwaine concentrated on the concerned look on Arthur's face and frowned. "I can tell it's changing me now," he said dejectedly "I keep getting thoughts…"

"What kind of thoughts?"

"I'm very hungry," he growled deeply and Arthur had to consciously stop himself from moving away in alarm.

"What else?"

"I am getting urges to go somewhere in the mountains," he said. "Arthur, I think the other wolves are calling to me,"

"Stay with us, try to ignore these thoughts,"

"It's difficult, sire," his breath hitched as he shifted his weight.

"You're going to be alright,"

Percival returned with water and Arthur left them both to return to the rest of the men by the newly made fire.

"Sire?" Leon approached him questioningly with evident concern for Gwaine.

"He's not good," Arthur murmured to him.

"What will you do?" He asked

"We are not going to do anything," Arthur sighed "We are going to let him lead us to the wolves,"

* * *

Merlin was dragged forcefully by his shackles through the corridors of what he now realise was a very old and ruined castle.

The woman had a vice-like grip on his chain and was not slowing down to wait for him to recover from his stumbles.

"Where are you taking me?" he asked as he tripped over his own feet. His shoulder was burning as she yanked his arms ahead of him violently.

"The stone of Boreas," she said "It is stored within these ancient walls. The power of the North Wind encased within a gem so brilliant and perfect that men have killed to possess it. But it's mine and only those with magic can command it,"

Her wolf rumbled beside her at the mention of the stone and turned to glare once more in Merlin's direction.

"These are its children," she said stopping suddenly to stroke the wolf fondly behind its ear. "Men without magic who were foolish enough to touch it. Trapped as animals but free to deliver winter to the world when the stone is activated,"

Merlin looked to the wolf with its icy stare. Trapped. He was trapped. For the first time Merlin saw sadness in its eyes. Behind the cold and the violence was a distressed soul.

"I command them now. They are my servants," she said and continued on down the corridor before she came to another set of double doors moving them swiftly aside with a wave of her hands. "But I need help,"

She moved aside so Merlin could look into the room. It was an octagonal chamber with a hole in its tall ceiling so that if it had been daytime the sunlight would have pooled onto the pedestal set in the dead centre of the room. As it was the moonlight was enough to give an mystical glow to the room. The power in there was obvious from the moment she had opened the door, it made the breath catch in his throat.

A sapphire the size of his fist was placed on top. Such a deep, beautiful blue in colour.

"It takes a lot of power to bring this winter and it has made me weak. It was never meant to be used for such a long time. I fear that if I continue it will be my end," she said sadly, her eyes fixated lovingly on the gem.

"And you want me to help you?" Merlin asked incredulously.

"You _will_ help me," she spat at him venomously. "I could feel your magic, the more you used it, the more I had to have it,"

"I will never do anything to harm Camelot," Merlin said resolutely

"You will have no choice," she wrenched his chains so he fell forward into the room, the shackles cutting deeply into his wrists.

The breath escaped him as he fell to stone floor and his shoulder pulled painfully. He turned quickly to push her backwards but she was already on top of him. Before he could push her away, physically or magically, she was whispering a paralysing spell into his ear.

The effect was almost instantaneous as he lost each muscle in his body all at once. For a sickening moment he thought his heart would stop beating and his lungs would stop breathing but they were left mercifully intact. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move.

He fought the spell within his body and his magic began repelling it. The woman seemed to realise that this would not hold him for long and her ultimate goal was soon revealed. She took his limp body and made him kneel in front of the sapphire like some kind of sick puppet. She then placed his hands carefully on the stone.

The paralysis was gone as soon as his skin touched the cold surface.

And he could not pull his hands away. It seared and burned his palms so that the skin blistered and stuck to the smooth surface of the stone.

It burned and he cried out in anguish.

He reached for his magic to free himself but it was being drawn into the stone, weakening him.

"Yes!" the queen squealed in delight behind him. "You have _great_ power!"

Snow started to billow through the hole in the ceiling, coating Merlin and the stone. The energy was being sapped right out of Merlin. His magic was being ripped from him, the warmth it gave him was being channelled into the stone at an alarming rate and he tried to strive off the faint feeling that was clouding his mind. He could feel the blackness begin to consume him and he fought to stay awake.

"Yes, sleep sweet boy," the queen ducked down next to him and stroked his face and hair affectionately "Sweet, powerful boy. The sleep will help,"

She pulled his chin up so he could look into her eyes. Her crazy wide eyes. She kissed his forehead but he didn't have the strength to jerk away even though he wanted to with every fibre of his being.

"Sleep, my pet," she purred.

He couldn't help it. The slumber overcame him and drifted slowly into an entranced oblivion.

* * *

The blizzard had been fierce and unrelenting in the night. The men had to take cover in a nearby rock formation as the wind began to pick up. It was sheltered enough to get them through the worst of the night but the men were disheartened and frozen in the morning.

The only one who did not appear to be shivering was Gwaine who had even started to look a lot better as the night continued on. He was standing on his own, without the support, his face meeting the biting wind as it whipped around his body.

He seemed to be a lot stronger, Arthur would've mistaken him for a fully healed healthy man if the bite-mark on his neck had not contrasted greatly against the pale skin of his neck. It was if something had simply poured the life back into him.

"Gwaine?" Arthur called out to him. He approached cautiously. Gwaine didn't turn to address him.

"Gwaine," Percy tried, also noticing the sudden change in his friend. He stepped closer than Arthur had dared to.

All the men stopped what they were doing when a low rumbling growl emanated from deep within Gwaine's chest. Kay and Geoffrey drew their swords in anticipation. The sound of them being unsheathed stirred Gwaine and he turned to stare darkly at them.

Arthur had never seen the knight look like this. The turmoil that was in his features, it fought between angry, scared, confused, lost. He wanted to reach out to his friend, look after his soldier as Gwaine had done for him so many times before. But the need to find Merlin held him back. And so the guilt consumed him. Could he really value one man's life so much higher than another? What kind of king did that make him? His knight needed his words and support but he stayed silent in the hope that his suffering would lead him to another man. One, his father would say, was far less important. Worth _less_ than a knight. Although his father would never made Gwaine a knight in the first place.

"Stay with us Gwaine," Percival said calmly, stepping forward towards his friend.

Gwaine ceased growling and started to focus on Percival. He was clinging to the concern evident in Percival's voice, Arthur could tell. He almost thought Gwaine would snap out of it, hang onto his comrades like a rock in a stormy sea.

"Can you tell us what's wrong?" Percival asked slowly

Gwaine didn't respond, didn't react. It was a cruel waiting game. Waiting to see if he would turn on them or not. Run away or come back.

Percy stepped forward again so that if he wanted to he was close enough to touch Gwaine. He reached out a hand for his shoulder.

Arthur could see it happening before Gwaine even moved. He started in fear like a threatened animal, jumping away from the outstretched hand. Percival quickly withdrew it but it was too late. Gwaine had lost his focus, lost himself.

Percival was about to reach out again but Arthur stopped him

"Don't," he said

Percival's betrayed and astonished look was enough to haunt Arthur for a long time. Gwaine swiftly turned and ran from them. Quickly crossing the icy river, slipping only a couple of times and continued up the valley on the other side.

"Quick! Follow him!" Arthur ordered

They secured their horses and gave chase on foot. The other side of the valley was a lot steeper with rocky uneven ground. There were ancient paths cut into the sides of the hills but Gwaine was not heading for any of them.

He was a lot faster than he'd ever been before and Arthur and the knights were having difficulty keeping up with the demanding pace. Arthur despaired for Gwaine. The truth was that he had no idea what was happening to him and no idea how to help him. But he had somehow known that if Gwaine made this horrible transition into whatever it was, he would lead them to the answer to all of this. The cursed men and what happened to Merlin would be revealed.

Merlin. He needed to find him above all else. He knew he was still alive. Gwaine was going to lead them to him


	5. Chapter 5

Merlin blinked his eyes open and squinted at the bright rays of light streaming down from the ceiling. He didn't know how long he'd been unconscious this time but if the throbbing headache was anything to go by it had probably not been less than a day.

Once again he seemed to be covered in snow that had travelled down from the skylight. The cold was seeping right into his bones from where it had come to rest on his shoulders and back and making his wounds painful.

He tried to remove his hands from the stone but found that someone had taken his shackles and attached them to the small pedestal. Even if he could peel the burnt and blistered skin of his hand away from the gem they would only hover an inch above the rock before being restrained by the chains.

Perfect.

He didn't feel like he had the energy to fight anymore. His eyes strained to look at the well-lit room. The dark stone was doing nothing to dull the light that invaded his eyes. His head was protesting at the extra effort. It didn't seem to like he could even stand his neck muscles working to look up so he let his head hang forward so his forehead rested on his shackles. The magic from the stone pulsed through him like an external heartbeat, making him twitch and shiver in response to it. It was the only energy left in him. His own magic and willpower weakened so there was only dregs of it left.

Another presence entered the room and he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He knew immediately who it was and what it was. The stone had taught him that much. He had connected with the weather and winter itself, this creature was just another extension of that. He saw the winter touch his home in Ealdor and his mother shivering in her house. She had food, so that eased his mind a little. He saw the winter in Camelot, much worse there than Ealdor, he saw the old beggar that used to sit by the citadel's gate. He had been an alley, not fighting to remove the snow from his body as his heart stopped beating. He was so connected to all the dark elements of this winter that he was not even surprised when a cold nose gently touched the fingers on his left hand.

He made his head look up to meet the scarred face of the wolf. His vision was fuzzy but the cold blue eyes were obvious in the haze.

_"Can you control it?"_

The voice invaded his head. Temporarily making his head thump and his eyes close against the onslaught.

_"Can you free us?"_

Merlin groaned. For some reason he did not seem to be able to form words anymore. He desperately wanted rest. And warmth. He'd do anything for warmth. He'd almost forgotten what real warmth was like, how long had he been gone from Camelot now? He didn't know. He even longed for some of Gaius' stew and a place by the fire in their house, sitting with him. Talking into the night and warming their toes. He'd had enough now, really had enough. He'd been beaten and broken and bitten and run ragged, chained up and burnt. The urge to curl up into a ball and give up was overwhelming.

_"You must help us,"_

"No," he croaked "What I _must_ do is _nothing_. I won't do anything for anyone anymore," He said it venomously and glared angrily at the wolf.

_"You are our last hope,"_

" Then get me out of here," he bartered

_"We can't. We are controlled by her,"_ his voice was rough and tired. It matched his scarred and rugged face _"The stone holds the power to free us. You wield the stone,"_

"Not out of choice," he replied gesturing to the chains.

_"Your friend is becoming one of us,"_ the voice took on a more manipulative tone _"Would you not like tohelp your friend?"_

Merlin looked up again, puzzled by the wolf's words. His friend? Suddenly an image assaulted his mind. Gwaine, running out of fear for his life. He could feel his panic, he could see the terror in his eyes. His bright, cold blue eyes. Merlin could sense him now, his physiology was changing even as he ran, he could feel the claws protruding from his fingers, his bones crunching out of his shape and into another form, fur was growing all over. He was turning into one of them. One of the pack.

Merlin wanted to call to him, tell him not to be scared. He'd never seen Gwaine afraid and he must admit, he didn't like it all. It was so uncharacteristic of the brave knight.

"How do I help him?" Merlin gasped as the image faded. He couldn't tell what he was running from. He tried to see but it was just beyond his reach.

_"The stone can free us,"_

"How? I can barely stay awake when it's working,"

_"Now. You can do it now," _the wolf spoke urgently now _"The magic of it is still within you. Can you feel it?"_

"Yes," Merlin answered. The magic was there, he could feel it. The coldness and strength of it was in his veins, draining him like a poison. It was so very different from his own magic that was suppressed deep within him. He had been trying to reach his own and ignore the stone's unfeeling, icy, dark magic but now he changes tactics and explored this new magic.

_"She's coming…"_ The wolf turned its head away from him and looked towards the door just in time for the woman to glide into the room and take a place kneeling in front of Merlin with a happy smile on her beautiful face.

"You are better than I could have wished for," she said gleefully. "Well done Bruin," She petted the wolf tenderly.

Bruin turned sharply and trotted out of the room. She did not seem to let his hasty departure bother her though. She was too interested in Merlin, he did not waver from meeting her gaze. He wanted to, he wanted to rest his head back down but he felt it was important not to take his eyes off her. She was not the most stable person he had ever met and she was looking at him like a cat looked at a mouse.

"You are so good to help your Goddess," she said as if he'd just popped out to the market for some vegetables for her. "You will be rewarded,"

Merlin did not say anything. Talking or responding to this 'Goddess' would not help him. In her deranged state, she was unpredictable. He instead focused on brandishing the unfamiliar magic aching through his body. It was wild and independent as the North wind and so different from his own warm magic, he wondered if it was even possible to make this magic do anything it didn't want to do.

"So quiet, my poor boy," she cooed and shuffled closer to him so she could hold his face and stroke his hair. He flinched away from her but this just seemed to make her more determined to show her fondness for him. "Such a nice blizzard you made," she said, stroking his face "The people will not be able to survive the winter you bring. When the winter becomes eternal, if you survive you can stay with me, by my side. The power you hold thrills me,"

"Why bring this winter?"

Her eyes flashed in anger. "Winter makes me strong and beautiful again! Power is the only thing that I have left. This castle used to be filled with my magic but as the magic was expelled from Camelot it took my castle with it. It took my beauty with it. I will punish this land for killing magic with the very thing that will make me strong again,"

"These people don't deserve to suffer," Merlin sighed in frustration. Again, he searched for a way to attach a leash to the magic emanating from the stone, turning his attention away from the Queen.

"The people would scorn you," she said "They are all the same. They fear what they don't not understand and kill without thinking. They are no better than the wolves," The words spat like venom from her mouth. The hatred and bitterness was heavy in her voice.

Merlin shook his head. A movement that he severely regretted as spots appeared in his vision and the ground seemed to spin around him. The cold new magic was moving further from his grasp.

"You are loyal to them?" she asked puzzled by the prospect. She stopped stroking him like a newly acquired pet and pinched his chin so she could pull his face towards her. She looked into his eyes and he felt the cold soak his skin and touch his soul. "They would not be loyal to you. Your magic would repulse them, the king of Camelot would have you killed,"

Merlin didn't answer. He couldn't really, he had no defence to that statement. He didn't know what Arthur would do if he ever found out. He hoped that he would see that Merlin only ever used his magic for the good of Camelot and for Arthur himself. However, the truth would probably be closer to what the woman was describing. The familiar dull ache in his heart was brought back. It was the ache that always made itself known when Merlin recognised that Arthur was not ready to accept magic yet. But he might be able to soon but not yet.

"Poor boy," she cooed again. She brought a cold finger to his eye and stole the tear that was hanging there. He hadn't even realised that he was close to crying. The pain, the weariness, the emotions and the new magic in him was overwhelming. He blinked away the other tears and dragged his head out of her grasp, not wanting her to see any more weakness in him.

"You should join me," she said with certainty. "Bring the winter, my sweet boy,"

She placed her hands over his and pushed them down onto the stone. Merlin cried out as the hard edges of the gem pierced his skin. He tried to move them away. He tried to reach for his magic. He tried to reach for the unfamiliar magic. He tried to struggle.

He felt the stone drawing in whatever little magic resources that he had left and the energy in his body was slowly leaving with it. He fought to keep his eyes open and to keep his mind awake.

She smiled at him

"It's such a shame that you might die before you ever get a chance to change your mind and join me," she sighed and stood up so that she towered over him.

Her fingers raked through his hair one more time before she left the room.

He continued to struggle and pull his hands forcefully from the stone but it would not release its hold on him. His consciousness was slipping from him and he desperately did not want to succumb to the darkness surrounding him. He had to help Gwaine. He had to warn Arthur.

* * *

Arthur gasped for breath and placed his hands on his knees. The run was long and they had almost lost Gwaine in the trees a couple of times. His armour dug into his shoulders and his chainmail had never felt so heavy. Running in heavy armour was not to be tried lightly and especially not uphill on a very cold day. The snow was falling heavily again and Arthur was thankful that Gwaine finally stopped running but he was not prepared for what happened next.

Gwaine staggered into a clearing and dropped to his knees. He clutched at his throat and squeezed his eyes shut in pain. Whatever was happening, it was hurting… a lot. Gwaine fell to the snowy earth and writhed around, giving off small yelps. Arthur could feel Percival wanting to go to him but was held back by Leon's understanding hand on his shoulder.

Slowly Gwaine's hair and bread grew and fur covered his body. He shifted and yelled in anguish as bones cracked loudly. Arthur could see the bones breaking and shifting in the man's legs and arms. His face grew longer and those teeth became larger and, if possible, sharper. His ears shifted and changed form until they were on top of his head. This half-man, half-wolf form was indescribable but the horror of it entranced him and would not let him look away.

It was not long until only a wolf lay where Gwaine once stood. The animal was panting heavily as it lay on his side looking wildly up at the knight.

Arthur took one steady step towards it but the sound woke the wolf with a start and it jumped to its feet. Ears were pricked up and teeth were bared in a frightened snarl.

"Gwaine?" Arthur said. He searched for some kind of understanding, some kind of hope in the wolf's features.

The wolf sprinted away faster than Arthur knew he could follow and he watched his friend disappear into the trees on the far side of the clearing. The snowy landscape engulfing him and making him a part of the forest. Arthur sighed in frustration and ran a gloved hand through his hair. For all he knew, this had also happened to Merlin. That was, of course, if Merlin hadn't just been killed straight away in the attack.

Had he just lost a knight to save a man who was already dead?

He looked around the clearing but the snow had picked up and all he could see was white. If they didn't move quickly and find shelter then they'd be caught in a blizzard again.

"Sire!" Elyan called. Arthur turned to look at the young knight. He was pointing to something in the distance.

Through the fog of snow and wind Arthur could make out a tower from a castle. The weather made it difficult to distinguish from the grey and ominous clouds but Arthur could swear he could see the snow fountaining out of the tower itself. He motioned for his knights to move towards it slowly.

They battled through the wind and the biting snow. Arthur had to hold his arm up ahead of him to see where he was heading. The clearing was wide and the snow seemed to swirl around it in a tornado of cold and bitter hail. It was the most direct route to the tower and Arthur did not want to risk going into the cover of the trees and losing sight of the ruin. He supposed he could have held back and waited for the storm to pass but the urge to find out if Merlin was alive was too much to ignore. Not now that he felt was so close.

The shelter of the castle's huge and dominating form managed to block out the majority of the snow and Arthur and the knights felt the difference as soon as they came close. It was like they had just stumbled out of a cold shower and the relief was evident in the group.

Arthur peered up at the tower that loomed in front of them. It didn't look like it should still be standing at all let alone standing so tall and grand in the middle of this wintery forest. The walls were crumbling threateningly and the plants looked like they were trying to claim it back into the earth. Vines and ivy climbed up its sides until they almost reached the top.

"The snow…" Leon began but found no end to his sentence. Arthur could see it for himself. The snow was definitely coming from within the ruins and not the sky. Before he thought that it was coming from the tower but he saw now that it was from further within the castle's walls. It was actually dying down now. Whatever was creating the weather in this place was obviously reaching the end of its power.

The wind calmed and silence returned to the area. What was left was a pristine and white wonderland. No animals or birds, just clean new snow.

Arthur unsheathed his sword and the knights followed suit. The blades sang out in the eerily quiet surroundings. The entrance was not far from where they had arrived, the dilapidated archway gave the impression that it used to be a grand palace of some sorts. There may have even been a moat around its edge but time had hidden it under piles of earth.

The knights moved slowly into the castle and were met with a courtyard larger than even the one in Camelot. The cobbles that made up its floor only just poked through the snowy forest floor now and a tree overcame one wall and grew in the corner.

"What happened to this place?" Kay whispered.

"Time happened," Arthur spoke. He pressed forward and headed for another grand archway.

Before he reached it a figure opened the doors and stepped out into the light of the open courtyard. The woman's icy glare stopped Arthur in his tracks.

"No," she said "Pendragon, you and your kind happened to this place,"

"Do I know you?" he countered but this seemed to just infuriate the woman even further.

She screeched and her eyes glowed gold. From all around them wolves appeared at every entrance and exit. The woman smiled and vanished back into the depths of the castle as the wolves stalked closer to the men. The growling began and the knights decided to huddle together in the centre for protection but Arthur had different ideas. He charged at the wolf blocking the way the woman had gone and the creature hardly had time to duck out of the way of Arthur's sword before he had killed it. With the way cleared, Arthur barrelled after the woman and into the body of the castle.

The knights tried to follow their king but were cut off by another animal's attack.

"Keep them busy! I'll be back!" Arthur ordered over his shoulder at the group of men. Leon nodded his consent and the knights took the offensive with the animals.

Arthur rushed through the labyrinth of corridors in the castle. The stone that the walls were made of was dark granite stone and they appeared to swallow the light as soon as they were touched by it. It became difficult to see where he was going and the woman really had just vanished. There was no sign of her, no footprints in the snow that had filled the hallways. He decided to just make his way further into the centre of the palace and hope that it would bring him closer to some answers and closer to the source of the weather.

He turned around a corner and was met by a very long corridor. It led all the way down to a small room that was flooded with light. It was so bright in comparison to the gloom he'd been travelling in that Arthur had almost thought he'd made it all the way through the castle and out the other side. It didn't help that the room was layered in snow, it sparkled with it.

Stepping closer, Arthur could make out a slumped figure in the middle of the room and he picked up his pace in eagerness. This was the room. This was the place in the centre of the palace that the snow had come from. Whoever was in this room could tell him what was happening and maybe where Merlin could be. Whoever was in this room was the source of the weather and the magic. He could taste the magic, it burnt his tongue and made the hair on the back of his neck raise in apprehension and nervousness.

He reached the doorway and stopped still. The figure moaned and tried to pick itself up. The snow fell away from dark hair with the movement. Arthur held his breath as he took in the skinny frame and that familiar jacket. Could it…?

He strode purposefully into the room and knelt down so he could get a better look at the person. He didn't dare hope until he could see for himself.

Merlin!

Merlin was here!

What was he doing _here_?

And he was unconscious. What was going on?

Arthur shuffled forward and started brushing the snow off of his friend. He had to half dig to clear the snow completely from his hunched body. Every new handful of snow revealed another surprise. First of all was the very clear amount of blood that was coating Merlin's hair and clothes. The source of this became apparent as Arthur cleared the snow from his shoulder. He cursed under his breath as he took in the deep bite-mark. It was even deeper than Gwaine's had been. But it didn't look as bad as to warrant the amount of blood he had seen by the river. He pushed away the questions that rose from this discovery in favour of getting Merlin out of this place and to safety first.

With the snow cleared Arthur noticed that Merlin was holding onto a small object on the pedestal. He couldn't quite see under Merlin's fingers and he attempted to pull Merlin's hands away only to find that they had been shackled in place. Merlin's wrists were bloodied and bruised.

The anger bubbled in his gut. His friend had been hurt and imprisoned by this woman and she was going to feel the sharp end of his sword.

"Merlin?" Arthur shook him, being careful to avoid the injured shoulder. "Merlin, wake up,"

Merlin moaned and turned his head away from Arthur.

"Oh no you don't," Arthur said and shook him again "Time to wake up, time to go,"

Arthur looked again to the object in Merlin's hands. He appeared to be loosening his grip on it and Arthur could see that his hands were bloody from holding it so tightly. Arthur was definitely confused now. What had happened to Merlin? How badly was he injured? Why was he in this room? His anger at his friend's mistreatment swelled again in his chest but the confusion he felt at discovering him in such a place troubled him more. How had Merlin got himself involved in this kind of mess? In this kind of magic?

"Let's have you, lazy daisy!" Arthur called cheerfully betraying the turmoil that was clouding his mind.

To his relief Merlin lifted his head slowly to look at Arthur. There was a hint of disordered thoughts in his face as his unfocused eyes beheld Arthur then the dawning of realisation.

"That's my line…" he muttered then looked to what he was holding and then back at Arthur and fear clouded his features. "Arthur, I –"

"It's ok, Merlin," Arthur said quickly "We'll get you out of here. Let go of whatever that is and I'll break your chains," he picked up his sword and was getting ready to hack at the shackles but Merlin hadn't made a move. "Let go, Merlin,"

"I can't…" Merlin croaked and the tears came to his eyes. Arthur dropped his sword with the instant rush of distress and fear he felt for his friend. Whatever had happened to Merlin had not been good. It definitely not been fun and Arthur felt the immense guilt that he had not got here any sooner.

"What do you mean 'you can't'?" Arthur said concerned.

"It won't let me go," Merlin explained but Arthur was only becoming more bewildered. They needed to get out of here _quickly_, he had left his knights fighting for their lives, for his life and for Merlin's life.

"I don't understand, Merlin. What is it?"

"It's a … sapphire," Merlin said "This woman said it controls the weather, it's the reason why Camelot has been in this winter,"

"Yeah, I met her. What are _you_ doing with it?" Arthur was becoming frustrated now. They didn't have _time_, they needed to get back to the knights. They could deal with this later.

Merlin had gone quiet. He was obviously tired and overwhelmed. Merlin was brave and a lot tougher than he seemed but he looked, at this moment, like he had been dragged through hell… backwards...by his hair.

"Here, let me help," Arthur said and brought hands up to cover Merlin's, hoping to lift the man's fingers one by one.

"Don't touch it!" Merlin said suddenly and flinched away from Arthur. He tried not to be offended by Merlin's reaction to him. He was expecting more of a 'My hero' response to his valiant rescue attempt but this was Merlin and he never had shown any hint of reverence for his king.

"I won't, okay!?" Arthur argued. "I'll just help you,"

He put his hands over Merlin's again, trying not to worry about how cold they were, and was careful not to go anywhere close to touching the gem. He started pulling the tip of his friends finger's back one by one. Arthur balked when he noticed layers of skin being left behind on the surface of the stone. For his credit, Merlin did not make a sound, he even put his own effort into trying to remove his hands from the object, but it must have hurt. When they finally had pulled both of his hands away, Arthur took his hands again and looked over the damage that had been done to Merlin's palms. Raw skin was exposed in places and rest of it was just blistered and sore.

"We'll bandage them up later," Arthur said gruffly, trying not to show his anger at how his friend had been treated. "Now hold the chains tight so I don't make it worse and chop your hands off completely," He picked up his sword and Merlin, for once, did as he was told.

It only took a couple of well-aimed swings of Arthur's sword and the chains broke free from the pedestal. Merlin fell backwards in a heap and groaned, holding his bloodied wrist to his chest.

"Come on, Merlin," Arthur said as he picked him up roughly. "No time for a rest,"

Merlin couldn't hold himself up, as soon as Arthur put him on his feet and let go, Merlin toppled into a wall and leant against it for support. He winced as his shoulder came into contact with the cold stone.

"Arthur…" he pleaded.

"You're in a bad way, aren't you?" Arthur had never been one to state the obvious before but he felt like it needed to be addressed. He'd never seen Merlin looking so ill. He almost did not look like the same man. Something was missing from him, some aura of confidence or courage that he had never noticed before it was gone, like he had been sucked dry of all the fight he used to have. His plucky servant wasn't quite back with him yet.

"You have no idea," Merlin sighed and closed his eyes. He looked like he might pass out again.

"No, no, Merlin," Arthur said as he pulled Merlin's good arm over his shoulder. "We're going to stay awake for this part,"

"'s difficult," Merlin slurred. Arthur repositioned Merlin on his shoulder with a jolt that brought a bit more life into the other man and started making his way through the castle corridors again. This time at a much slower rate than Arthur had arrived in.

"Come on," Arthur shook him. "You can rest later. We've got to get back to the knights,"

"The wolves?" Merlin asked as they hobbled forward.

"Yes, we've met them too," Arthur grumbled. "And I see they've already had a taste of you," The bite of Merlin's shoulder was drawing Arthur's attention more than he would admit. He had seen what had happened to Gwaine. Why hadn't the same thing happened to Merlin? Why was he taken prisoner? Above all, why wasn't he dead?

Merlin gave an apprehensive look in Arthur's direction and he immediately knew that Merlin wasn't telling him something. He'd had to question him further when they got out of this place. Not now. He could hear the knights again now. They were still fighting fiercely. The shouts and yells rang through the castle corridors. Arthur was torn between his anxiety for his friend and his concern for his knights. He wanted to slow down for Merlin and really take stock of the injuries inflicted on the skinny man but he didn't have the time. The knights sounded like they were having a hard time keeping the wolves back, he could hear Leon barking orders but not many replies to them.

They made it finally back to the courtyard and the knights looked in severe need of some assistance. Leon was cut off from Percival and Elyan over the other side of the courtyard and surrounded by some pretty mean-looking large wolves. Percival had killed a couple of wolves but more had jumped to replace them, with their teeth slashing and snapping in anger. The courtyard was overrun with the creatures. He spotted Sir Kay in one corner with his throat ripped out, Sir Geoffrey was next to him, still alive but with blood pouring from his mouth as he struggled to breathe.

Arthur propped Merlin up against a wall and tried to ignore the unfocused look his manservant gave him.

"They need help," Arthur explained. "Stay here and don't do anything stupid,"

At least Merlin was still healthy enough to give a hearty eye-roll at that statement but immediately let himself slump to the floor. It worried Arthur that Merlin had not even tried to protest a little at the order. He normally loved to jump head first into dangerous situations where there was a high probability that he would die. Whatever had sucked the life out of him wasn't giving it back.

Arthur tore his eyes away from Merlin's pale form and drew his sword. He picked Leon to help first, the knight was nearly overcome by a large number of snapping jaws. He jumped into the fray sword swinging and blocking attacks that were aimed at his loyal knight. The wolves were fast and violent and they showed little fear for their own lives. Arthur believed that this characteristic in an enemy was always the one that made them the most dangerous. They came from all sides, one even managed to lock its jaws around Arthur's elbow and he had never been more grateful for his heavy armour than when the wolf's teeth slide off and left him unharmed. He sank his sword into the wolf's neck in retaliation and Leon protected him by covering his exposed back.

He looked up to parry the next attack and saw Merlin stand up in the corner of vision. A wolf jumped for Arthur and he knocked the beast away with the hilt of his sword. He searched around for Merlin again and saw that he had walked down into the middle of the courtyard. What was he doing, the idiot?

The wolves suddenly stopped. They stopped attacking. They stopped growling. They all turned to stare at Merlin.

Arthur looked around the battered courtyard and realised that everyone had turned to look at Merlin. One by one the wolves turned growled at Merlin as he wavered in the centre of the courtyard and ran away. They sprinted out of the castle and deep into the neighbouring woods without a second glance backwards.

Arthur lowered his sword as the last of the wolves left the arena and stared at Merlin. He was getting a very bad feeling about all of this. It was too much magic and it was all centred around the weak-looking man standing feebly in the middle of all of them. Gwaine said that in the original attack the wolves had only been focused on Merlin, Merlin had survived against all odds, Merlin was captured and kept prisoner for some unknown reason, Merlin was in the mysterious weather room and now, the wolves appeared to be frightened of him. Things weren't adding up. He narrowed his eyes at his servant who refused to meet his gaze.

"Sire," Leon grabbed his attention. He had moved towards the two fallen knight's side. "They're both dead," Geoffrey had lost his fight for survival.

He bowed his head. He couldn't stand losing men in battle. It was worse when he didn't even know what the battle was for. He didn't like feeling hopeless. Gwaine first. Kay and Geoffrey now.

A thump from the middle of the courtyard brought him back to the present. Merlin had fallen to his knees and was looking distraught. Arthur moved to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder. The sun was sinking fast and he didn't feel like spending the night in this castle. Merlin had probably had enough of the place by now as well.

"We'll find a place to camp out of these walls. We'll recover and decide what to do next," Arthur ascertained.

Percival came over to Merlin and was about to help him up when Arthur stopped him.

"I'll take him," Arthur said softly and took over assisting Merlin to his feet. It was stupid but he had some sort of irrational feeling of protectiveness over Merlin. Especially with the man looking so ill. Merlin still couldn't focus properly but he finally brought his blue eyes to meet Arthur's. He gave Merlin a small smile and the relief was evident in Merlin's gaze. Did he think Arthur blamed him for all of this? If anything, Arthur should be blaming himself.

They travelled out and into the woods a short distance. Arthur was still acutely aware that the wolves were still out there and his mind was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened. The freak weather, the wolves, Merlin imprisoned, Merlin holding that gem, there was a lot more to this than he was getting. Camp was set up pretty quickly, Percival was quick to get a fire going and was not afraid to make it a big one. Leon was busy with clearing the snow away from their patch of earth while Elyan kept a look out.

Arthur placed Merlin carefully down by the fire and shrugged off his cloak to place around Merlin's shoulders.

"Where do you hurt?" Arthur asked as if he was addressing a small child. He felt like he was. Merlin looked so pitiful and weak at the moment and it was obvious that he didn't like Arthur seeing him that way.

"Where don't I hurt is the question?" Merlin sighed.

"Your shoulder?" Arthur continued, ignoring the sarcasm. He'd let the servant off this once.

"It's not so bad," Merlin said "Arthur, I know this is … well, there are odd things happening and…" he tapered off, he didn't seem willing to finish the sentence. Either that or he wasn't capable of completing it.

"What is happening here?" Arthur prompted. He did not like the way Merlin was avoiding looking at him. He'd never had to worry about Merlin not telling him everything before. Merlin was the one person he trusted more than anyone else.

"The stone… the sapphire. It's bringing this winter to Camelot. That woman wants the winter so she can be powerful again, she obsessed by it," Merlin explained.

Arthur nodded, he wasn't surprised. That was all sorceress' and sorcerer's cared about after all. Themselves and how much power they possessed

"What was she doing with you?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. That's what Christmas does for you :) I hope everyone had a good one. Thank you for all the reviews. Here is an extra long chapter to make up for the wait. _

"What was she doing with you?"

Merlin opened and closed his mouth a couple of times but nothing came to mind. He really didn't have an answer for Arthur this time. Would he really believe that Merlin arrived there by accident? It's a significant detour away from Ealdor, why would he be here? Would he believe that he had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time? Maybe, but then what was he doing in the room with the sapphire, covered in snow?

He had been so happy to see Arthur when he arrived to free him but he knew there were too many things that Arthur would ask questions about. Would he be able to explain this away like all the other times? Arthur's face contorted with the suspicion that started to come over him. Merlin knew he had to say something. The wolves brought him here? That was the truth, but then Arthur would ask more questions about the wolves and their odd behaviour towards him.

"I don't know," Merlin said weakly. And he hated himself for it. Arthur narrowed his eyes and Merlin looked away.

"How does she use the stone?"

Merlin wracked his brain but decided to go with the truth. "She gives it her magic and it uses it to affect the weather,"

"So she is a sorceress?"

Merlin winced at the hatred Arthur put behind the word.

His head began to throb again and he brought his hand up to hold his forehead. As he did so he balked at the state of his palms and the burns there and flinched as the shackles rubbed against his already sore wrists. Now that he was really allowed to rest he realised how much pain he was actually in. His shoulder, particularly, seared with white hot needles and his leg felt like it was hanging on by only a couple of muscle sinews.

"Did you hit your head?" Arthur asked in response to Merlin's actions.

"Yeah," he said.

"Let me look,"

Merlin obliged and leant forward so Arthur to take a look at the back of his head at the point where it had connecting with the rock when the wolf called Bruin tackled him in the clearing. He could feel that the blood had already dried on the back of his neck so the wound can't have been too bad but Arthur drew a sharp breath between his teeth at the sight anyway.

"Did she do this to you?" Arthur asked with thinly concealed anger.

"No, the wolves,"

"Why are they afraid of you?" Arthur asked seriously.

And again Merlin had no answer for him. He had discovered that the stone's magic was, although difficult to control, had predictability to it. Exactly like weather. He could sense where it was moving to and he just had to get there first and harness it. He could still feel it within him now. It was repressing his own magic and swirling around his body like he was its servant, its home. The wolves recognised that and backed away instinctively but Merlin had not done anything consciously. He was still working on a way to change the wolves back to human form like Bruin had asked him to.

Gwaine…

Did Arthur know?

"Gwaine?" Merlin said, ignoring the question.

Arthur looked down and a desolate look played on his features.

"He's … lost," he said.

Did that mean he was dead? Had he not come back to Camelot after the wolves attacked them? How did Arthur know where to look for them? Or even that they needed rescue? No Gwaine had been with Arthur, he was sure of it. The stone's power fizzed within him as thought about Gwaine and he knew that he was also still alive.

"He changed into…" Arthur waved his hands around but obviously didn't really know how to finish. Merlin felt some pity for his friend. This was starting to get a little above Arthur's head and Arthur knew it.

"He saved me," Merlin said and wanted desperately to master this strange power within him. But even as the warmth of the fire soaked into his skin he could feel his own magic beating back the unfamiliar coldness. Like his body was recovering from a virus, he could feel the energy coming back to him and the colour returning to his cheeks. "We need to get that stone,"

"I think you may be right," Arthur said grimly. He looked around at the knights around him and frowned. Merlin did not interrupt his thoughts. "I need to know what we are up against though. And you don't seem to be giving me the whole story,"

Merlin snapped his attention back to Arthur with wide eyes and for the first time since he had known Arthur he saw mistrust blossoming in his gaze. It made him feel sick. Had Arthur had seen too much to really believe his lies anymore? Arthur didn't know the truth but he knew that Merlin was lying and that terrified him more than anything that had happened so far. Arthur regarded Merlin closely in a silent challenge.

"Are you going to explain what is happening Merlin?" Arthur asked in a dangerous and low voice. "Because I know you know more than you're telling me,"

Merlin knew what he was doing. Arthur was giving him a chance to come clean before it got any worse. Arthur's steely blue eyes caught Merlin's and held them. He swallowed, his mouth was so dry that he couldn't talk if he wanted to. And he didn't want to at all. He desperately did not want to. Arthur looked angry and it made Merlin afraid. He was a coward when it came right down to it. After everything he faced for Arthur, he could not actually face the man himself.

"I don't know what's happening, sire," he croaked out and felt his self-loathing wriggling to the surface.

Arthur sighed and broke their eye contact by looking at Merlin's burnt hands. Merlin could feel the disappointment from his master wash over him as Arthur shook his head.

Merlin watched as his king brought a hand to his mouth in thought as he looked into the fire. The light from the flames danced across his face. He looked so much older than when they first met. And he looked hurt. Merlin had hurt him.

Arthur turned from him and stalked away to sit with Leon and Elyan, leaving Merlin to himself.

A pain, unlike all the physical injuries that had tormented him over past few days, clutched his heart and he couldn't help the tears that came to his eyes. Arthur did not trust him anymore and this hurt more than anything, like someone had just ripped half of his soul away from him.

What did the dragon say? Two sides of the same coin? He needed Arthur.

When had lying to Arthur ever hurt this much?

Arthur stood up and Merlin hid his face away so he would not see the tears on his cheeks.

"We will rest tonight and return to the castle in the morning," Arthur ordered "I fear that we are not finished here,"

He heard Arthur pause while the other knights started making themselves comfortable for the night. He didn't want to look up into his friend's accusing eyes any more but he knew that this was what the man was waiting for. Merlin did not look, he knew not meeting his eyes would only aid to confirm Arthur's fear that he was being lied to but if he saw his grief-stricken face, Arthur would know for certain.

"Sleep well, Merlin," he heard Arthur mutter angrily.

Merlin turned his whole body and lay down by the fire. He would just let the warmth cover him and reinvigorate his muscles and his magic. He would need it to defeat the woman by himself, it would seem. Arthur could not go into this blind but Merlin could not tell him all he needed to know so the responsibility lay with him to do it himself.

He'd sleep a couple of hours and then go to the castle alone.

* * *

Merlin slept far longer than he had anticipated that he would. Long enough that he was actually being shaken awake by Percival in the morning rather than waking under his own accord.

"Hmm?" he murmured

"Arthur says you should drink," Percy said kindly and held out the water skin to him to take a drop.

"Thanks,"

"We'll be moving soon,"

Merlin nodded and shifted himself so that he was sitting upright. His muscles screamed in protest, everything had decided to stiffen and lock up during the night. Bones clicked and skin stretched away from his wounds from where they had closed up in the night.

He looked around for Arthur but could not see him. It wasn't wise for him to go out on his own and Merlin started to panic a little as his 'protect Arthur' instinct kicked into gear. He didn't have to worry though as the man appeared from behind him and made him jump out of his skin.

Arthur rolled his eyes in a frustrated sort of way and looked coldly at Merlin. It seemed as if he had passed through the angry stage and was just going to treat Merlin with indifference when he told him that he wanted to look at the bite on his shoulder.

Merlin didn't know what to make of it but complied by taking off his jacket and staying still while Arthur examined the wound.

"Why wasn't your arm taken off?" he asked.

It was a good question. The wolves were definitely strong enough, Arthur had felt the power of them himself.

"Maybe they weren't that hungry," Merlin joked but regretted it when Arthur gave him an irritated look.

"How did you escape the wolves?"

"I didn't… they took me to here,"

Arthur nodded and accepted this as the truth. Merlin couldn't help but feel like he was being interrogated. The knights had now come to stand around them. Percival had a confused look on his face. Leon was wary and Elyan looked worried. He might be worried for Arthur or Merlin or both.

"What did they want with you?"

"I told you I don't kno-"

"Why have you recovered so quickly?"

"Arthur…"

"You will address me as 'sire' and not use my name,"

Merlin stopped and looked on Arthur like he'd just slapped him.

"Why were you in the room with the stone? What were you doing in there?" Arthur continued. "Why were your hands on the stone?"

Merlin's head reeled as he tried to take in everything Arthur was asking him. He couldn't think of a lie now. Not any lie that would explain all of this and Arthur would not believe him when he said he didn't know.

"What have you done with Merlin?" Arthur spat.

What had he done with…? He thought he wasn't Merlin?

Well, Merlin had to admit, he hadn't been expecting that.

What had he done with Merlin?

He couldn't play along with this, could he? After all, that's what Arthur was looking for, he was looking for an evil sorcerer that he could kill. He couldn't connect magic with Merlin, it just didn't compute in his head. After everything he had been taught all through his childhood, it went against his very sense of reality. Magic was evil. Merlin appeared to be using or could possibly have magic. Merlin was good. Ergo, it could not be Merlin.

"N-nothing… I'm Merlin," this had gone so badly. In all the ways that Arthur could have become suspicious, of all the times that he could've cottoned onto something being amiss, it would have to be the time that Merlin was feeling so beaten, so irrefutably hopeless. His head hurt, he didn't understand how this had happened.

He had to come clean now.

Arthur was looking at him with such fury, he'd never seen him look at him like he was now.

Merlin opened his mouth to start. But found he couldn't find the words. It was probably ridiculous that he hadn't, but he'd never actually played out this conversation in his head before. How would he actually tell Arthur this secret? It had never occurred to him to have a speech prepared but that would actually be really helpful about now.

"Please…" he started and Arthur's cold glare softened slightly as he looked upon his servant. The other knights shuffled uncomfortably. Percival looked torn between showing loyalty to his king and showing comfort to his young friend. Arthur obviously hadn't filled them in on the details. "Ar- Sire, trust me. Please, this one last time,"

Merlin hated himself. He was a coward. He just couldn't do it. He couldn't tell him.

But, he resolved, he _would_ tell him after all of this was over. It had gone on long enough now.

Arthur paced slightly in front of him. Studying him carefully as his feet dug a grove in the ground. He looked less angry at least, just more frustrated and confused.

"I will explain… everything. After it's over," Merlin whispered, his throat even rebelling against him as he spoke. It burnt and became swollen in the fear of what it suspected Merlin might reveal. It was fair. His throat would be the first part of his body to meet the headman's axe after all.

"Everything…" Arthur echoed him, still deep in thought.

"Sire," It was Leon, daring to break the tension. "We need to move swiftly,"

"Merlin?" Arthur was still fixated on the man in front of him. Still wary.

"Yes, sire," Merlin responded. "It's still me. You trust me, remember?" He said it more for his own peace of mind rather than Arthur's. He desperately needed to hear that he hadn't lost his friend, his master, to this.

"One last time, yes. I will trust you one last time," Arthur said coldly. "Then you will tell me everything," it was more of an order than a question but Merlin nodded anyway.

Arthur led the knights away and they started walking back towards the castle. Merlin staggered to his feet and began to hobble after them. The pain was shooting up his leg and he swayed as his head made his vision spin but he was determined to keep up with everyone.

He would need to find the woman alone. Arthur and the knights could not face her. He tried to think of a way to lose them but nothing came to mind. The group was already distrustful of him. Arthur did not seem to even want him to get out of his sight from the way he kept glancing behind him at the limping Merlin.

He tried not to let this upset him. He would make it right after this had been done. He didn't quite know how he would achieve this but he doubted he'd get out of it without a lot of talking.

Percival held back and waited for Merlin to catch up to him. Merlin gave him a small smile and was immensely grateful when the large man put Merlin's good arm around his shoulders and helped him forward. Arthur shot them an annoyed look but decided to allow it.

The castle was not far and the group stopped to look up at the grand entrance. Arthur peered upwards and led the way through the courtyard and into the main body of the castle. Just like they had done before. Snow still coated every surface within the castle walls and Merlin felt the guilt swell within him. He should have resisted more, all this snow, the weather worsened over the last couple of days had been his doing.

Percival helped him through the corridors. The whole group moved in tense silence until they came to the room that held the stone.

The looks that were shared all held the same message. This had been easier than it should have been. The stone lay, exactly where they left it, unguarded and obvious in the middle of the room. The remnants of Merlin's chains still attached to the pedestal.

Arthur moved to pick it up but Merlin barged in ahead of him.

"Don't," Merlin warned. He remembered what the woman had told him about the cursed men. Those without magic would change.

Arthur looked at him guardedly but conceded and gestured for him to take it.

Merlin hobbled forward and crouched in front of the gem. He reached out and tapped it lightly with the tip of his fingers. It sparked and fizzled at his touch and the knights all took an instinctive step backwards.

"I need something to pick it up with," he turned to look at the men.

Percival reached into his pocket and handed him a crumpled piece of cloth. Merlin had never pictured Percival to be the kind of man to carry a handkerchief but he supposed there was a lot he probably didn't know about the man. The rest of the knights were looking at Percy with the same kind of incredulous expression so that made him feel a bit better. Apparently everyone had their secrets.

He took the red handkerchief with a quick thank you and covered the stone with it. As he had hoped, the stone made no reaction as he picked it up this time. He deftly stuffed it into his pocket and immediately he could feel the power of the North Wind try to invade his senses. However, it appeared to need the skin contact to really be effective and Merlin managed to beat it down easily.

"Ready," he said to Arthur and the king nodded in return.

"We'll get it back to Camelot where we can decide what to do with it,"

The group moved swiftly to leave the castle and came to the courtyard again.

However, this time, the woman blocked the path. She had come out to greet them and she had an entourage of wolves behind her.

Arthur stepped forward and made himself look as regal and as powerful as he could manage.

"My lady," he began and the woman smiled and curtseyed at the title with a giggle. "I have been made to understand that you are the reason we find ourselves in this winter,"

Arthur waited while the woman straightened herself to her full height and her eyes took on a more menacing glow. As Merlin looked at her he noticed the significant reduction in her wrinkles from when they last met. Her hair shone brighter and her teeth were whiter, she captivated his attention only hurriedly looking away when she gave him a sly wink.

"That is correct," she said smoothly and the wolves growled.

"You want to see the downfall of Camelot," Arthur continued.

"Not necessarily, I just would like to see my kingdom restored to its former glory," she grinned and looked up at her castle with a motherly fondness. "It used to engulf the lands of Essiter, Camelot and Mercia. It was powerful and I was its Queen, its Goddess,"

"I know of no kingdom that was ever here," Arthur challenged.

"No, _you_ wouldn't!" she spat at him in fury. "It lived in a world between worlds, it thrived and loved and lived in magic. But when magic was purged from the kingdom and it was pulled cruelly into this dark and lonely world. Hardly enough magic in this world now to keep its walls from crumbling," she glared and the craziness that Merlin had seen in her eyes before came to the surface. "My people were persecuted and killed in this world. There is only me left… and my pets," she held out a hand to stroke a wolf.

Merlin made to reach for the North wind magic and found that although it had died down it was still faintly within him. It had retreated to give way to his own magic. He touched the warmth of his magic briefly and was grateful to find that it wasn't repelled by the wolves' magic, having built up some kind of immunity to it. He looked towards the wolf that the woman had decided to lay her affection on today and found that it didn't look to be enjoying the act very much.

It looked at him and cocked is head to one side.

_"Merlin,"_

Merlin's eyes widened as he recognised the voice. It couldn't be…

"Hand over yourself to us and your sentence will be less severe, my lady," Arthur persisted.

_"Merlin, she's controlling me,"_ the wolf whimpered and Arthur gave it a puzzled look before turning his attention back towards the woman _"Merlin, she wants us to kill them,"_

Gwaine's voice was so prominent in his head that he almost missed what their Goddess said next.

Almost. But not quite.

"Hand over my little sorcerer and my stone and _I_ will let _you_ live," the woman smiled sweetly and held her hand out to Merlin.

Each man, in turn, looked towards Merlin with varying expressions of disbelief and confusion. Percival even let go of him subconsciously.

Merlin staggered but kept himself upright. Arthur caught his eye and a brief flash of comprehension passed between them.

"You want… Merlin…" Arthur said for clarification.

Merlin's heart was beating so fast that he was starting to feel faint from it. The blood rushed away from his face and he felt deathly sick. Arthur was not moving, he was just staring at Merlin with a look that Merlin could not quite read. He looked right back and waited for what was going to happen.

"You think _Merlin_ is a sorcerer," Arthur said the words like they were just a jumble of sounds, like it was a line that he had been told to read from a page. There was no emotion, no understanding there. But Merlin could see Arthur's mind working the idea over and over and he seemed to be stuck on a loop.

"If that is his name," the Queen waved her hand in nonchalance "I want him. He has been most useful,"

"He's been _helping_ you…" Arthur, again, was needing clarification.

Merlin wanted to shake his head, he wanted to come to his own defence but his body was frozen and he couldn't tear his eyes away from Arthur's.

"Yes, doesn't he make pretty snow?" she laughed hysterically. "Now, chop chop. My pets are getting hungry. Hand him over and you may all go,"

"But what about Camelot?" Arthur said finally turning back to the woman. "If you let me go, you still will destroy Camelot,"

Her eyes glinted with malice. "With the sorcerer, I can have Camelot and much, much more," she said "Do you even recognise his full power? I have never felt anything so … delightful. I could taste his magic from miles away," Merlin flinched as she shuddered with excitement.

"No," Arthur said slowly "I can honestly say I have never contemplated Merlin's full power,"

It would have been funny if hadn't been so bloody terrifying. Merlin could tell that Arthur was having a difficult time knowing who to believe. On one hand, this woman was obviously crazy and on the other Merlin had not done a lot to reassure Arthur about truthfulness recently.

"Well, I'm afraid, I can't let you have him," Arthur took a step backwards and drew his sword. He assumed a fighting stance and the knight followed his example.

The wolves began to growl in unison. Gwaine's teeth were by far the whitest and newest of them all, not a touch of blood, and Merlin felt a little relief at this. He also felt relief that Arthur still deemed him worthy of his protection. Merlin started to entertain the hope that Arthur would possibly accept him with magic.

_"Merlin?"_ the fear in Gwaine's voice cut Merlin deeply. _"Merlin, I don't want to hurt any of them,"_

The woman pulled her own lips back in anger at being defied so readily. "Kill them," she ordered and the wolves surged forward as one being. Gwaine at the front of the pack and heading straight for Arthur.

The fighting ensued and Merlin backed away a few steps not sure what to do. He struggled to reach the North wind magic to stop the wolves and Gwaine from injuring the knights. The stone was burning in his pocket but he didn't want to risk touching it. Arthur and the knights were managing to beat the wolves backwards even as the swelled over them. Their armour and muscle was a good deterrent. Gwaine had sustained a cut on his shoulder from Arthur's sword and retreated a safe distance away. It was obvious that he was different from the other animals. He still had a battle going on inside of him, he was obligated to attack under orders from the Queen but his severe loyalty to Arthur as a knight was holding him back.

Percival slashed out and took down a couple of wolves but Leon was brought down to the ground behind him. A wolf leapt onto the man's chest but it was stabbed by Elyan just in time. Another wolf came up and made a lunge for Elyan but Leon had managed to get his sword in the way in time. There were too many of them. The group would be overcome in a matter of minutes.

At that moment, the queen, who had taken her own steps back from the fray, had her attention drawn to the wolf on the outskirts of the battle and clearly at war with itself. Gwaine paced and shook his head so the fur around his neck flicked back and forth and his ears flapped roughly. He looked possessed and Merlin was reminded horribly of the mad dog in his village one year. 'It had to shot to be saved,' he was told by the village elder at the time.

Merlin closed his eyes and dug deep for the control over the North Wind magic but he couldn't reach it. The queen had a firm and determined grasp on it and she was just starting to command it to come forth in force against Gwaine.

He opened his eyes to see her mouthing the words of a spell at Gwaine and suddenly his pacing stopped and his eyes focused entirely on Arthur.

Leon and Elyan were defending each other gallantly and Percival had somehow lost his sword and was on his back. He was managing to fight one wolf with just fists and a short dagger, a fight that would have a messy ending for either the wolf or the man, that depended on who lost. Merlin realised with a jolt that it was Bruin that was attacking him. Arthur was trying to get to him and had not noticed Gwaine creeping up behind him.

In a last ditch effort, Merlin tried his own magic on Gwaine to try and stop him in his tracks but it was as he had feared. His magic had no effect.

Unfortunately, it might have had no effect but the Goddess had certainly noticed its use in the area and her eyes flashed at Merlin and he was flung backwards by an icy wind.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled as he noticed his friend in trouble. Merlin fought to pick himself up again to show him that he was alright but only rose in time to witness Gwaine's huge wolf form take advantage of Arthur's distraction and pounce.

His bulk brought Arthur to the ground with ease and the sword flew out of his grasp. Merlin heard the sorceress squeal in delight and he watched in horror as Gwaine's jaws opened over Arthur's throat.

"NO!" Merlin cried and flung out his hand towards them.

He was not quite sure what happened next. Everything stopped. No. Not everything. Just the wolves.

The wolves froze and held still as if they were only a painting. However, the people: Arthur, the knights and the woman were still moving and had all turned their heads in unison to look at him.

Arthur was more or less pinned to the ground, unable to move without letting his neck touch Gwaine's teeth. Leon and Elyan stood together but dropped their swords slightly in confusion while Percy threw off the frozen Bruin and stood up. The woman screamed in utter fury.

"Give them back!" she screeched and pulled her hair "Give them back! GIVE THEM BACK!" She even stamped her foot in her tantrum.

Merlin felt the gold fade from his eyes and he tried to look like this had happened all by itself but it was too late. Arthur was looking right at him. He'd seen everything.

"You!" the woman turned and pointed her finger at Merlin. "Will pay for this!"

She raised her arms in the air and a whirlwind of snow and ice descended from the sky and took her away from them. The knights and Merlin covered their faces as wind bit at them. But she was gone when the wind died down leaving her wolves frozen in their odd portrait. She had lost her power over them. Merlin could feel it within him. He knew the wolves by name and what they had been thinking. Most of them detested the violence and the gore of what they were ordered to do under their mistress but had thought beyond that and a few of them, Bruin and Gwaine particularly, despaired and were eager to return to being men. Bruin had a family, he saw them in his mind's eye.

Arthur was watching Merlin carefully.

"Arthur…" Merlin started but stopped as Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Someone kill this thing before our _sorcerer_ decides to wake it up," Arthur said angrily gesturing to the jaws around his neck. Leon moved toward him with his sword at the ready.

"No!" Merlin stumbled forward with his hand outstretched again.

Now that he thought about it, this probably wasn't the wisest movement he'd ever made. The knights all immediately pointed their swords towards him in warning. Merlin put his hand down slowly and looked towards his friends and wondered if they were actually serious. Were they really afraid of him? "That's Gwaine," he pointed feebly at the wolf in explanation.

Arthur didn't have a very good viewpoint but all the knights turned to study the wolf carefully.

"_This_ is Gwaine?" Arthur asked disbelievingly. "And you're a sorcerer?!" he almost screeched that sentence. "And Percival carries handkerchiefs?"

Percival looked a little affronted that this fact was included in the list of big surprises that day.

"I can explain, Arthur. Remember, I'm going explain _everything_," Merlin tried again.

"Get 'Gwaine' off me!" Arthur yelled, furious with everyone. He wouldn't listen to anyone if he was like this. Leon and Percival ran to his side and lifted the frozen wolf off of their king. Luckily, Gwaine became limp as soon as he was moved and was easy to lay him down on the ground.

Arthur stood and retrieved his sword. Merlin watched him and stood still, waiting with his hands clasped in front of him. His shackles clanging together far too loudly for the quiet of the courtyard. The hope that Arthur would accept him with magic was slowly fading and it all but dissipated when the king spun around held his sword up towards Merlin's throat, the tip just touching the skin.

It took Merlin by surprise but he held still, eyes wide and trying not to swallow. The other knights were also stunned at the action but they were all at a loss at what to do. He was a sorcerer so by all rights they should be trying to kill him but he was also Merlin, their friend. They realised that this was not about them anymore. This was between Arthur and Merlin.

Arthur was breathing heavily and the sword was not steady at Merlin's throat because Arthur's hand was shaking. He could feel the steel tickle his adam's apple.

"Was this what you were hiding?" Arthur's voice quivered. "You practice magic?"

Merlin glanced down at the cold steel of the sword. What could he do? What could he say?

"Kneel," Arthur growled through gritted teeth.

Merlin obeyed, not really knowing what else to do, and stepped down onto knees in front of Arthur, the sword following him all the way.

"Sire?" Percival spoke up but Arthur glared daggers at him.

"No!" Arthur yelled. "You will not tell me that this is my friend! That he should not die for his crime!" He was trembling fully now and Merlin had to look away. "The Merlin I knew never existed!"

"I-" Merlin began but Arthur interrupted

"No! You don't talk anymore!" he shouted and pressed his sword closer, Merlin could feel a small trickle of blood run down is neck. He looked up at Arthur and his heart broke as he saw the tears in Arthur's eyes. "When you talk you give me lies or half-truths. You told me that I can trust you,"

Merlin didn't know what to say, it was probably best not to say anything. Yes, he had lied to Arthur but could he tell the man that he could still trust him as much as he did before? He was still Merlin, still the same friend he had always had. But that friendship was broken now. It was out of his own fear and cowardice that he had never told Arthur the truth. However, it looked like that fear might have been justified, the point of his sword was still at his neck after all.

Arthur was furious, Merlin could see it in his shoulders and his unsteady stance. The last time he had seen him this angry was when he had been shown the image of his mother by Morgause and was told what his father had done. Merlin knew from experience that Arthur could do stupid and rash things when he was this angry.

His tears were proof of this, he would never have shown tears on his cheeks if he had been more composed. Merlin couldn't make this better, he couldn't take away this pain. Arthur had been betrayed again. Morgana, Agravaine, Guinevere and now him.

"Say something," Arthur said and took his sword away and finally Merlin could breathe.

What? Now he could talk? Merlin felt a little anger of his own sparkling in his gut. Why had he actually let himself to hope that Arthur, when he eventually found out, would take the discovery a little better than this? After everything they had been through, he couldn't show his loyal friend a little mercy?

"What would you like me to say, sire?" Merlin said sarcastically looked up and their eyes clashed, each with their own equal amounts of anger. Merlin knew he shouldn't get angry, he should try and explain, try and plead for his life, and he should come to his own defence. But …he had always been a bit of an idiot. "My last words? After all, it doesn't matter what I say. You'll kill me anyway,"

The fire died a little in Arthur's eyes and a cruel coldness came over them instead.

"If that's what you wish, sorcerer," Arthur said coolly "I will take your last words and carry out your sentence." He brought his sword up and cleaned it so it gleamed against the white of the snow. Merlin heard the knights shift but he didn't pay attention to it.

So this was how it was going to be then. This was how he would die. It was funny because he always thought he'd die in some heroic attempt to save this prat's life. That was destiny for you, it didn't always play out the way you wanted it to. Merlin had first-hand experience of that. He had tried, hadn't he? Constantly saving his life. But it was always going to end up this way, Arthur would never have accepted his magic, there were too many lies. He may still accept magic, as a whole, later on but Merlin had done too much to hurt him now. Too many lies.

But not everything was a lie.

Arthur was his friend. And he still loved him like a brother. He had never lied about that.

The tears started to burn again in his own eyes and Arthur stopped cleaning his sword.

"Well?" the king prompted.

"I…" his voice came out as a croak "I told you once that I was happy to serve you until the day I die…I just wanted you know. That was never a lie,"

Arthur appeared to pause and ran a hand through his hair. He looked away and into the distance, he looked like he wanted to be far away. His eyes became unfocused and he just stood for a moment, leaning on his sword. He looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders and he had the worst decision to make. Merlin would have liked it to be a no-brainer. It went somewhere along the likes of 'Don't kill your friend' but he knew it wasn't that simple for Arthur. It was choice between believing everything he was ever taught about magic, everything his father had believed, and believing his friend who had apparently been lying to him for years.

He stood up and firmly grasped his sword. Decision made.

"I, Arthur Pendragon, find you guilty…" his voice cracked and Merlin couldn't listen to this. "…of practicing the art of sorcery within Camelot. The sentence, of which, is death by be-heading,"

The knights moved again and Merlin looked at them through bleary eyes. Leon looked torn, he wanted to say something but his loyalty held him back. Percival and Elyan looked too shocked to even understand the implications. If Gwaine had been conscious, he probably would have done something but it would have got him killed as well. Merlin realised with a nauseating thought that he would never be able to help him now. He would remain as a wolf for the rest of his days.

"Bow your head," Arthur commanded.

Merlin turned his head away from the knights and did as his king instructed, leaving the back of his neck bare. He let the tears fall freely now, he didn't care who saw. He drew the line at letting out a sob, he held those back. He wouldn't crumble, he would take this like a man.

He felt the sword edge touch the nape of his neck and he closed his eyes and waited as Arthur drew back for the swing.

But nothing happened.

He waited another moment.

His head was still attached.

The sound of a sword being sheathed came to his ears and he opened one eye and then the other and looked up to see Arthur looking thoughtful again.

The knights all looked relieved. Leon looked like he was recovering from a heart attack, his face was pale and drawn.

Merlin looked at Arthur and gave him a puzzled look. What was going on?

"Why didn't you defend yourself?" Arthur asked sternly. "You were just going to let me kill you. You have powerful magic, I saw it, and you didn't try and defend yourself. I didn't even have to have you restrained,"

"What?" Merlin gasped. He was so bewildered that the tears had stopped and he could feel the water on his face freezing in the cold wind. "Was that some kind of test? Are you playing with me?" he couldn't believe it! Was Arthur really this cruel?

"I'm just trying to figure you out, Merlin," Arthur said grimly. "I can't trust what you say anymore so I'm just going to have to trust what you do, your actions,"

So this was not really about his magic at all.

This was about the lies. Arthur didn't seem to care that there was magic in the mix, it was about trust. This gave Merlin more hope than he had ever had before.

The magic was just a secondary issue. An inconvenience to the main problem.

"Can I try to help Gwaine then?" he blurted.

Arthur was obviously shocked. He had probably given up on Gwaine from the moment he changed, believing him dead. He also would be a bit wary about going from 'not killing Merlin for magic' straight to 'letting Merlin perform magic freely in front of him'.

He was likely to be jumping a few steps in this journey back to complete friendship but Gwaine needed him and he felt like he could do this. The stone was heavy in his pocket and vibrating at the power it took to keep the wolves stationary. With the sorceress gone from the area, it was easier to reach the magic of the North Wind and it seemed to be much more compliant.

"You can help him?" Arthur asked uncertainly.

"I think so," Merlin replied and brought himself unsteadily to his feet again. "I would never use magic against you Arthur,"

"The sorceress said that you helped her bring this winter. People have died Merlin,"

"I didn't provide help willingly," Merlin grimaced as he remembered the feeling of helplessness at being forced to give magic to the stone. "I was her prisoner," he held up the broken shackle on his wrist as a reminder and Arthur had the decency to look a little ashamed at the accusation. "Please, let me try,"

"Sire, I believe we should let him try," Percival spoke out and all heads swivelled to him "For Gwaine,"

Arthur nodded and stood quietly for a moment. He looked between Merlin and prone wolf figure that was Gwaine and then his knights.

"Ok, but we need to all stay back," Arthur gestured to his knights to move away from Merlin and the wolf. "And Merlin," he said turning back "don't do anything stupid,"

Merlin almost smiled at the familiar order. Almost. But didn't. He probably wasn't ready for sharing jokes anytime soon either. He kept his facial features in check and waited for the knights to get to, what they believed, was a safe distance away from the _evil_ magic.

Gwaine lay on his side, mouth open with a large wet tongue hanging out over sharp teeth. He was limp and lifeless and Merlin thought briefly that maybe he had killed him. He could not feel his life source and he panicked slightly. That was, until he realised that they were frozen in time, they wouldn't give off a life source and they wouldn't be breathing. It was fine.

But this meant that he'd have to wake them all up. He couldn't do anything to change them if they were all stuck in time. He looked around and didn't fail to notice Arthur looking towards him expectantly. They were all far enough away from the wolves to be safe but maybe he should warn them.

"I'm going to wake them up," he warned and Arthur's eyes widened.

"You're going to do _what_?" he snapped but still stood where he had positioned himself with his arms crossed.

"I need to bring them back or I can't do anything to change Gwaine,"

"Can't you just bring Gwaine back?"

"It's not _my_ magic, I'm not that familiar with it," he explained. "I don't have that kind of control. It takes a lot of energy out of me as it is,"

"You are planning to use magic that you don't have complete control over… on Gwaine?" Arthur asked incredulously

Merlin smiled slightly at the humour but wiped it off his face as soon as Arthur locked him in a thunderous glare.

"It'll be fine," Merlin said reassuringly but he knew that Arthur didn't trust him anymore. Would he try to stop him? "It's his only chance. I wouldn't do it otherwise,"

Arthur seemed to accept this but backed everyone up much further and positioned them so that they were near the exit if they needed it. He nodded his consent to Merlin and motioned his knights to crouch down with him in a defensive stance.

Merlin looked back at the scene he had to contend with. The wolves were all in various positions of battle and their teeth were all bared. He'd had to act quickly when they came alive again, he'd have to make sure they were all under his control from the moment they all took their next breath.

Shakily Merlin sat down next to Gwaine and withdrew the stone from his pocket. He had feeling he was going to need it for this bout of magic. It was unlikely that he would be able to achieve this amount of power with the dregs of the North Wind magic that were swirling around in his system. He laid the stone down on the snow, cushioned in Percival's handkerchief, and placed his hand carefully on the wolf-Gwaine's still side. He could feel the muscles and the ribs beneath the soft grey fur, the sheer power that radiated from them overwhelmed him for a moment but he kept a hold on the feeling until his mind made the connection to all the wolves in the area. It was not just those that were in the courtyard either. He could feel the rest of them, stalking around in the forest outside the castle. He feel the earth in their paws, he could see their breath in the cold air.

Merlin reached out with his other hand and held it above the stone and power started to jump in between him and the object in small bolts of blue lightning. The stone was trying to steal his magic and he was trying take control of its in return. He briefly looked towards Arthur, he was curious about his reaction to seeing the magic so plainly in front of him, jumping from the fingertips of his servant. It didn't look like Arthur was aware of how he looked at that moment. His mouth was slacked open in … was it awe? Digust? Wonder?

Merlin looked away from him. He'd never had an audience for his magic before (other than Gaius) and he had to say that he found it quite disconcerting. He made the connection with the wolves again and brought his hand slowly down onto the gems surface. Again it grabbed at him and his skin held to it like it had become magnetised. The already burnt skin, blistering all over again and stone fought him for control. It was like it had a mind of its own. It wanted power just like any person, it wanted to dictate what was going to happen and it sucked at Merlin's magic cruelly, weakening him.

He couldn't help the cry that came to his lips and he spotted Arthur jumping to his feet, ready to run over to him. Luckily Leon held him back with a strong arm on his elbow.

Arthur couldn't distract him now by getting himself in trouble. Merlin could feel the stone trying to defeat him and he couldn't have Arthur to worry about as well.

The wolves suddenly awoke and the growls died down as they tried to comprehend what had happened and why the knights had suddenly disappeared. Merlin felt his connection with all of them and they all turned to look at him. Gwaine shifted suddenly and brought his head up so that he was face to face with him, Merlin's hand still burrowed in his thick fur.

The stone was taking over and it was starting to snow lightly. Merlin felt it try and take the wolves but he fought back and the warmth of his magic slowly started to gain the upper hand. He tried sending out an order to the wolves to move towards him and away from Arthur and the knights. The joy at seeing the wolves do as he had asked them to was the last straw in harnessing the stone's power and it submitted to him completely.

The wolves waited, staring at him, they were waiting for their next order.

Gwaine, however, was not still and was not doing as he was told. He hadn't been a wolf that long and he still had quite a lot of human independence running through his veins. Which didn't make Merlin's job very easy but he still laughed when Gwaine jumped to his four padded feet, stamping them on the ground in excitement and maybe relief that he hadn't ripped Arthur's neck open. His tail wagged and he even decided to lick the side of Merlin's face until Merlin told him to 'Get off'in a very stern voice.

Now he was waiting for his orders.

"Gwaine, come back here and …sit… I suppose," he said, not feeling entirely comfortable in giving a knight of the realm instructions.

Gwaine did as he was told and sat down in front of Merlin and the stone. The energy was slowly leaving Merlin and he was struggling to keep his new-found control so he would have to do this quickly.

He placed his hand on Gwaine's head and searched for the right words. The stone gave it to him freely.

"_Werwulf gehíwian" _Merlin's eyes flashed with a mixture of the North Wind and his own warm magic.

A white light started glowing on the chest of Gwaine and the other wolves. Gwaine stood up uneasily and tried to peer down at his chest. The warmth and colour that emitted from the light dazzled Merlin. A spectrum of colours that Merlin would never know the name of glinted and sparkled in the bright whiteness of the light. The lights grew and grew until it engulfed the wolves' bodies. But continued further and soon the whole courtyard was filled with brilliant light and silence. The wind stopped blowing and the snow stopped falling.

Merlin blinked at the brightness and his hands were thrown from the stone and Gwaine as if he'd been shocked by both of them. He sat back and light grew until Merlin thought he would go blind, he closed his eyes.

Then he heard the bird begin to sing again.

He opened his eyes slowly and was face to face with a very human, Gwaine.

Gwaine grinned and Merlin was ecstatic.

"Well, you've got some hidden talent, haven't ya, Merlin?" he chuckled.

Merlin laughed. He was so overjoyed and overwhelmed that he didn't even notice the other men who had suddenly appeared, looking confused and wild in the courtyard. Most of them didn't know quite what to do with their freedom. The stone at Merlin's feet was crushed into a million shards. Merlin couldn't focus on any of this because the familiar feeling that he was going to pass out was creeping up into his head again.

Gwaine must have noticed something was wrong because his smile disappeared and the last thing Merlin saw before he blacked out was Gwaine turning to call the knights over.


	7. Chapter 7

_I am so unbelievably grateful for all the reviews, it's nice to know that people are actually enjoying this. Keep reading, it really encourages me._

Arthur didn't what to feel about this anymore. To be honest he felt a little numb, he hadn't spoken to anyone since Merlin had passed out.

How? How was Merlin a sorcerer? How did Arthur not know? The man had been his friend and servant now for 7 years or more, they been through terrible things together. Sometimes they had even been through amazing and wonderful things together and they had always come out the other side joking and mocking each other. Merlin had got him through his darkest moments with uncharacteristic wise words and Arthur was struggling to remember a time where he had been the same kind of support for Merlin. Was he really this bad of a friend?

Did he even know Merlin at all? Who was this person, lying unconscious on the ground?

He'd started this quest with a burning hope to see Merlin safe. He'd given up on Gwaine, one of his most trusted and loyal knights to find him. He'd abandoned his kingdom and Queen to come out here to rescue him. He just felt like a fool for caring so much about someone who had been lying to him all this time. Someone who was, quite possibly, an enemy or a traitor.

The anger grew again as he thought about it. Why would he practice magic in Camelot when he knew how much his father had despised it? Did he do it just to spite them? Did he hate them like Morgana had?

Now that he thought about it, he wouldn't blame him if he did. In the same way that he didn't really blame Morgana. She was afraid and hurt and now she was so consumed in bitterness towards him that she couldn't see that he still loved her like a sister.

Did Merlin fear him in the same way Morgana had? He saw the fear in his eyes when he realised Arthur had seen him use magic. Those eyes that turned from blue to swirling gold with the power that he held. He was terrified of him, had he always been so afraid of him? Did they ever have a chance at being true friends? He knew that there would always the barrier of servant and master but that never seemed to bother Merlin. His arrogance and petulance for the proper way to address and talk to Arthur had been his most redeeming feature. It was what he had missed the most when Merlin had left on this retched little trip.

Was Arthur afraid of Merlin?

The sorceress had told them that he was powerful. He proved that with how he had cured Gwaine and the other men. Arthur looked up and over the campfire to where Gwaine was sat next to Percival. They were sharing a quiet joke, trying not to disturb Arthur. Merlin had even healed the bite on the man's neck. There was no sign of it now.

Merlin was lying next to him. He didn't want anyone else to guard him except him. He wanted to be there when he woke up. He didn't know if it was because he felt Merlin was dangerous or if he felt like he owed it to him. For saving his knight, for saving his life, for not rescuing him sooner. He who could be a traitor had healed Gwaine's injuries but none of his own. Merlin lay there, looking pale and thin. The bite-marks on his shoulder and his leg were red and swollen, he had small amounts of bruising on his face and his hair was still matted with the blood from his head wound. And, of course, a tiny cut on his neck from Arthur's sword.

It was just like him to think about other people's injuries before his own.

Arthur scoffed to himself. How did he know what was 'just like Merlin'?

Merlin had told him that it was true that he was happy to serve him until he died. His last words before he thought Arthur would kill him.

Would he have killed him?

He was close. But… maybe actually he wasn't at all. Could he really have brought himself to kill Merlin?

He was a sorcerer. It was his duty to kill him.

He had magic and magic corrupts. But, Merlin didn't seem corrupted. Or was this all part of his deception? Make the king believe that he was good, make him trust him and betray him at the worst moment.

He didn't need to have revealed his magic for that though. In fact, he had gained Arthur's trust from almost the first day they had met. The young village idiot who thought he could take on a prince in a skirmish. Arthur smirked slightly at the memory. If Merlin had wanted to, he could have killed Arthur many times in his sleep, poison his food, trip him in the heat of battle. Merlin had never done anything but show loyalty to his master.

But he had this power.

This power that Arthur had not even scratched the surface of yet.

And magic was evil.

Essentially, magic was evil. Wasn't it?

Merlin shifted and moaned slightly and Arthur felt his heart race in alarm.

He would admit it then. He was afraid of Merlin a little bit. He relaxed when Merlin settled back down into sleep. But Merlin hadn't tried to defend himself when Arthur was at the point of killing him. He believed it when Merlin said he wouldn't use his magic against him.

Merlin was coming around now. Arthur didn't really know if he could handle Merlin being awake yet. The pain was still fresh and Merlin didn't seem to be able to help him. He hadn't given him any answers back at the castle. Merlin had just left him confused and at war with himself. Jumping to one idea about magic to the next within his mind. When questioned, the idiot just appeared to get angry back at him. What did he have to be angry about? Surely Arthur was the only one who had a right to be angry about this?

He moaned and brought a hand up to his head, then flinched as he discovered the newly burnt skin on his fingers. Oh yeah, Arthur was going to bandage those for him.

They had made it back to their horses and their supplies at the bottom of the valley. Gwaine had been more than happy to carry Merlin all the way; he seemed to be a little protective over him and kept shooting warning glances over at Arthur as if he would suddenly decide to build Merlin a pyre right there in the middle of the forest.

He had meant to tend to Merlin's wounds but he'd got caught up in his own thoughts.

He motioned for Gwaine to get the bandages from the packs while Merlin struggled to open his eyes.

The knight jumped from his place by the fire and wandered over to the horse, not without sending Arthur another disconcerted look.

"Arthur?" Merlin croaked and brought his battered body into a sitting position so he could look at his maimed hands.

"Yeah…" Arthur grunted "We're getting the bandages,"

Merlin nodded but kept his head down, not looking at Arthur. To be fair, Arthur was doing the same. Neither one of them wanted to look at each other.

"The stone?" Merlin enquired.

"Destroyed after you…did that thing…with the light," Eloquent as ever. Just how a king should sound. Arthur sighed in frustration at himself.

"The men?"

"A man, one of them, told me to thank you and said he would lead them back to their home," It had been an unusual experience. Talking to the man, called Bruin apparently, he had been trapped as a wolf for so long that his words were disjointed and did not always make sense but he had definitely felt it important to tell Arthur to thank Merlin.

"Good," Merlin said

There was an awkward silence. The knights kept glancing over from their separate huddle. Trying and failing to look nonchalant and uninterested by what was transgressing between King and servant. The moon was out and the light filtered through the bare branches of the trees and bounced of the dark rock of the mountainside

"What are you going to do with me?" Merlin asked suddenly. He looked up briefly but didn't want to hold Arthur's gaze for long.

Gwaine interrupted at that inconvenient point, stomping loudly over them and setting the medical supplies down next to them with a thump.

"We're going to get you cleaned up," Gwaine answered for Arthur. "Can't leave your _friends_ covered in blood and muck, can you?" It was a thinly concealed barb at Arthur and the king did not appreciate it.

Arthur grunted but moved aside so Gwaine could tend to Merlin. He warmed some snow and ice up over the fire and took a clean cloth and started wiping Merlin's face down with the warm water. Merlin took the cloth from him in an assurance he could manage. Gwaine nodded happily.

"Thank you Merlin," he told the sorcerer "You saved my life,"

"You saved mine first," he grinned and Gwaine just shook his head with a smile.

Gwaine seemed to be taking this all rather well. Too well. Arthur tried not to grumpy or jealous about it but the fact was that Gwaine had the freedom to be nice to whoever he wanted. The king could not just befriend a known sorcerer. He got up and tapped Gwaine's shoulder in a silent command to get lost. He had a lot of talking to do with Merlin.

Gwaine gave him an annoyed look but did as he was ordered and he didn't go far.

Arthur took the water and cloth from Merlin and tried to ignore the startled look he was being given by his servant…his sorcerer? No, that didn't sound right.

"Hold out your hands," Arthur said gruffly.

Merlin held out his damaged and burnt hands. The skin was blistered and sore and it looked more like he had tried to hold a torch by the wrong end rather than a simple stone. Arthur took the first hand and began to clean it carefully for him.

"I don't know what to do, Merlin," he said "Why did you keep this from me?"

Merlin shifted uncomfortably. "I know why I didn't tell you at the beginning but I… I'm not entirely sure why I continued to hide it. I guess I was afraid you'd react badly…"

Arthur had confirmed that those fears were correct then? He didn't exactly react well earlier.

Arthur took the first strip of bandage cloth and started wrapping Merlin's now clean hand. "When did you start learning magic?"

Merlin paused for a second and Arthur tied the first bandage and moved on to the next hand and started cleaning again.

"I didn't," Merlin stuttered.

"You can't tell me that you just suddenly started being able to do this stuff," Arthur scoffed.

"Well…" Merlin shrugged. "Yes. With a little help. But mostly I was doing magic before I could walk or talk,"

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him and finished cleaning his other hand. He had never heard of that before. A sorcerer that didn't need to learn magic. A sorcerer who was born with magic? So Merlin had been lying since the moment they had met then. Arthur tried not to let it make him angry again but he failed and when he came to wrap the next bandage he squeezed too tightly and Merlin flinched away with a hiss. He tried to take his hand away from Arthur but the king was holding onto it firmly.

"You're hurting me…" Merlin murmured and tried to wriggle from his grasp.

"_I'm_ hurting _you_," Arthur growled. "I just found out that my closest friend has been lying to me the whole time we've known each other,"

"Yeah, well, today my closest friend almost killed me and pretty much has shown me that he will never see past his own ignorance and accept me for who I am," Merlin spat back.

"Just stop doing the magic and we'd be fine," Arthur was furious again.

"I can't just stop doing it!" Merlin cried out and the knights across the fire jumped to attention with their hands on the hilts of their swords.

"Why not?" Arthur accused angrily, released Merlin's hand roughly and got to his feet. Merlin followed, clutching his un-bandaged hand. Arthur had made the blisters bleed.

"Because, you'd be dead within five minutes if I wasn't there doing magic," Merlin countered.

"I don't need magic to help me," Arthur said, then reflected on those words. There were times when he had considered, and actually had turned to magic to help him. All of those times hadn't turned out well. "I don't _want_ help from magic," he corrected.

"Magic is not evil, Arthur," Merlin stood up taller and began bandaging his own hand. He tied it off deftly and waited for Arthur's response. "Do you think _I'm_ evil?"

"No," Arthur said. It was true. Merlin wasn't evil.

"I _am_ Magic," Merlin said shakily and Arthur realised that although Merlin was holding himself up with an air of confidence, the man was feeling weak and afraid. Just like Arthur was feeling. "I don't just have it. I am magic. I was born of magic. I breathe magic. I'm not just some random sorcerer you picked up along the way. I am a creature of the Old Religion. I am a warlock. That's why I can't just stop doing magic and that's why, if I'm not evil, that magic can't be evil either,"

A warlock… Arthur struggled and he was ashamed that he didn't do very well at staying calm at that moment. Merlin was not a sorcerer, he was a powerful warlock. A component of a religion he thought was just superstitions and stories.

"There is no place for magic in my kingdom," Arthur said blindly. He didn't care anymore and did a good job at skilfully ignoring Gwaine's cry of protest. He would deal with him later. "Magic is evil. You are evil!" he shouted and poked Merlin's chest.

Merlin didn't move and didn't back down. He matched Arthur's height and looked just as angrily back at him.

"Well done. You have successfully become your father," he said darkly.

"Don't!" Arthur barked. "Don't bring him into this,"

Arthur could not begin to register the deep pain Merlin had just inflicted with those words. He didn't quite understand the pain yet. He loved his father but he would never want to become him.

Merlin brought his lips together in a thin line but stood his ground. Daring Arthur to go on and push him further.

Arthur was never one to back down from a challenge, of course.

"What would you do if I banished you?" he said slowly.

A small glint of hurt flashed in Merlin's eyes and his shoulders sagged a little. Gwaine gave another little burst of indignation but was quickly shushed by Leon.

"I wouldn't go," Merlin said with determination.

Was he really this much of an idiot? Not only was he a warlock but he was obviously suicidal as well.

"Then you'd be killed," Arthur confronted.

Merlin became agitated on his feet and rolled his eyes as if he knew that wasn't true. They both knew that wasn't true from Arthur's inability to follow through earlier. The look Merlin then gave him made him feel slightly foolish.

"So I really have no choice in this?" Arthur said, conceding that execution was not a possibility. This was something that really twisted the knife in his gut. Merlin was leaving him no choice. When did Merlin gain the right to make his decisions for him? He was still King, wasn't he?

"If you really wanted me to leave… if you truly decide that you hate me and what I am, then I would leave willingly," Merlin said softly "But, I suspect… and I don't want to cross any lines here… but, I suspect, you're just being a bit of a prat at the moment and you don't actually want me to go,"

Arthur glared at him. How had he ever let this man talk to him like this?

'Because it was good for you,' a small voice at the back of his head told him. He smirked slightly then quickly hid it behind his hand. The bastard was right, he didn't want him to leave. Merlin chuckled a little and gave Arthur one of his signature grins. He couldn't help but let go of the anger then. It was still Merlin he was talking to after all. Still the same old Merlin that called him names like prat and clotpole and dollophead.

"But I can't have a sorcerer, sorry, a warlock, in the court at Camelot," Arthur said sadly. "I have to do what is expected of me. The options are: I can kill you, I can banish you or I can keep you imprisoned,"

Merlin nodded and picked at the bandage on his right hand absentmindedly. "Whatever you decide, my lord," he said quietly and, for once, he didn't sound sarcastic when he said it. He was resigned to this fate, Merlin sat down with a sudden tiredness and acceptance, Arthur could tell that he had seen this coming. "Before you decide though, don't you think we better find out who this sorceress is? She's still out there,"

Arthur appreciated the sudden change in conversation. There was still a bad-guy to kill. He could cope with bad-guys that needed killing. "How do we find her?"

"Well, I always go to Gaius in these kind of situations," Merlin offered.

"Exactly how many of these kind of situations have you had?" Arthur asked. He then waved his hand in front of Merlin as he was about to answer. "Stop, I don't want to know. Not yet. You will explain everything later,"

"As I promised," Merlin smiled.

The group set off for Camelot the next morning. They were feeling a lot better about the whole magic-thing than the night before where everything was still a little on edge. It wasn't helped immensely by Gwaine grumbling about how Camelot's court could do with a warlock, how it would brighten up the council meetings.

Arthur glared daggers at him. And even though he was glad that Gwaine was feeling better and that he didn't have four legs and a tail, the man could be infuriating at full health. And as much as Arthur wanted to see this all be ok and that they could just move on and pretend that Merlin having magic was normal and fine, he couldn't do that. The people would be afraid, it had been twenty years since magic had been allowed in the kingdom and even then it was looked upon as suspicious and dangerous. If the king suddenly allowed one person in the court to practice magic, people would become afraid and worry that he had been enchanted. There was a whole new generation of people who had grown up being told that magic was evil, himself included.

Merlin was sharing a horse with Elyan. The two men were talking quietly to each other. They were smiling and chatting as they had always done before. His knights seemed to have accepted Merlin without issue. They weren't afraid of him. Would the people accept him too?

But then, the knights knew Merlin before all of this and Arthur had to admit that if he hadn't known Merlin, the man would probably be dead by now.

Then there was the issue of trust. Could he honestly still trust Merlin as much as he always had? He was clearly a better liar that any of them had ever realised. It was the open innocence and transparency to him that he had appreciated about Merlin and now he was discovering a complete lack of innocence and he was cloudier and murkier than a swamp.

He was finding that he couldn't read Merlin at all and this worried him.

* * *

The journey back to Camelot was a lot easier than the journey away from it. The weather was clearing and there hadn't been a snowfall in a couple of days. On the second day the sun had even managed to burn through the clouds and warm the faces of the group. It served to lighten the mood as the world just got that little bit brighter and clearer.

Merlin was feeling good, a little uncertain of his future, but good. After the initial shock of Arthur's reaction to him things had only started to get better.

They hadn't spoken much and Merlin knew that Arthur had a lot of thinking to do. His preconceived ideas about magic were battling the new discoveries about his manservant and Merlin was not entirely sure which was winning half the time. Sometimes he would look over to Arthur and he would have an incredibly pensive face, almost drawn right into a scowl, and other times he would look over and Arthur would be smiling softly to himself. If this wasn't the sign of a conflicted man then he didn't know what was.

Merlin was holding onto his faith in Arthur to do the right thing. There was a moment when that faith had been shaken and abused when Arthur drew his sword on him but that was probably fair, he had shaken Arthur's faith in him after all. They both gave as good as they had gotten in the end. Merlin regretted some of harsh things he had said but he had been scared and now he realised this was why Arthur had said his own biting words.

Now they were stuck in some kind of limbo where Arthur neither wanted to condone magic but he also did not want to kill Merlin. This had resulted in the longest stint of the silent treatment than he had received from Arthur while he decided what to do. Merlin was acutely aware that when Arthur usually was having difficulty coming to a decision that he would have gone over to him and helped him with advice or some wise words. As he was the source of the indecision it didn't look like that was going to be appropriate this time.

As they drew closer to the walls of Camelot Merlin could sense Arthur's unease increasing. He wanted to make a decision before he got there as to how he was going to deal with the whole situation before he had to officially put his crown back on and act like his king rather than his friend.

Against his better judgement Merlin approached Arthur on their last stop before they reached Camelot. Arthur was adjusting the saddle on his horse and making sure it was fed. Something that Merlin would have been doing for him under normal circumstances. He was lost in his own thoughts when Merlin came up from behind and startled him.

He jumped and brought a hand to the hilt of his sword.

"Sorry!" Merlin said quickly and held up his hands in surrender.

Arthur rolled his eyes and went back to what he was doing. Although, his shoulders were now visibly tenser than they were before… if that was possible.

"What is it, Merlin?" he asked gruffly.

"Um…it's about what you're going to do with me when we reach Camelot,"

Arthur sighed and ceased fiddling with a strap on his saddle. He glanced at Merlin with a conflicted look.

"I don't know Merlin," he said and Merlin could hear the frustration and anger thinly laced in his voice. "I can't banish you…you'll come back. I can't kill you… and I think we both know why I can't do that,"

Merlin smiled warmly at him. He couldn't bring himself to kill him because he knew Merlin was good underneath it all. It was a small step but one that made Merlin feel that hope and faith in Arthur bubble and warm his heart.

"Although, if you keep smiling at me like that then I might reconsider," Arthur grumbled affectionately

Merlin wiped the smile from his face and cleared his throat. Arthur went back to struggling with that damn strap on his saddle. The horse moved impatiently and Arthur gave up trying to get it right. Instinctively, Merlin took over and laced up the strap in no time. Arthur stared at it for a little while then shook his head. When he looked up at Merlin again he wasn't smiling.

"That only leaves putting you in the dungeon to rot," Arthur said with grim resignation.

"No fourth option?" Merlin prompted. It was probably too much to hope for a fourth option.

"No fourth option," Arthur confirmed sternly. A look of understanding was shared. Merlin understood that Arthur was not ready to let magic be accepted. Merlin understood that this meant his freedom was forfeit.

"You'll need me to fight this woman though," Merlin countered.

Arthur seemed to consider this for a moment and then stuck to his resolve. "The knights and I will manage. If I put you in a cell, will you escape?"

Merlin had to think about that one for a moment. He accepted that it was important that Arthur could feel like he was still in control, that he still had Merlin's loyalty and obedience. Merlin wanted desperately to show Arthur that he was no threat to him and he was still, and always will be, his servant. But Arthur was going to face this woman alone. He could die and Merlin could not let that happen.

Arthur looked at him darkly and Merlin knew there was only one answer he could give. "I won't escape," he said quietly.

Arthur let go of a breath and placed a grateful hand on Merlin's shoulder. He spoke softly then so they couldn't be overheard and Merlin had to strain to listen. "Thank you Merlin," he whispered "It won't be forever, just give me time,"

He turned away and Merlin was left to finish tending to Arthur's horse, which he did with more competence than he ever before.

Camelot's white walls came into view far too quickly after that and Merlin could feel his heart beat kick up a notch at the sight. The men had become increasingly quieter as they drew closer, Gwaine was even holding his tongue but it hadn't stopped him from shooting concerned glances to Merlin and angry ones at his king. Merlin wondered whether he should talk to Gwaine and warn him that the stocks were not as fun as everyone expected them to be.

"Merlin," Arthur said, breaking the silent tension. "I'd like you to come with us to Gaius so he can check your wounds before…" he didn't finish, the knights had been kept in the dark about Merlin's fate so far and they were hanging on every word said between the two of them. Merlin just nodded although his wounds were hardly bothering him anymore.

Gaius. He'd forgotten that Arthur didn't know that Gaius had always known about his magic.

What would he do to Gaius?

But surely, he must suspect that Gaius must know something?

Merlin's fearful expression must have caught Arthur's attention because he shot him a puzzled look at first. Then a dawning comprehension washed over his features and he looked towards his castle with an annoyed look.

The silence returned and remained with them until they arrived at the citadel and Arthur ordered messages of their return to be sent to the Queen. The people of the market and the streets stared upon them, as they always did when the king rode through after returning from a quest. But this time, Merlin was beginning to feel like a convicted man. The only thing that stopped him from becoming completely self-conscious was the fact that he hadn't actually been restrained.

Maybe Arthur hadn't felt that this was necessary. That meant that he must trust him to keep his word. Merlin had to smile at that.

When they got down from their horses and let the stable hands lead them away, Gwaine had positioned himself right next to Merlin and was glancing around with uneasiness. It seemed as though Gwaine had appointed himself his protector and as much as Merlin appreciated the gesture that could only end badly for both of them when Arthur finally gave the order for his arrest.

"Gwaine," he whispered. "Please don't, your loyalty should lie with Arthur… as mine still does,"

Gwaine gave Merlin a sad look but nodded his hesitant consent.

Arthur started to lead them all to the physician's quarters. The knights had placed themselves unconsciously in a protective circle around Merlin but it had only served in making Merlin feel like they were truly escorting a prisoner. Arthur didn't look pleased at their formation but didn't say anything. He didn't want them to be protective but he also would like them to guard him and that conflicted look came over him again.

"Percival, Leon," Arthur said as they reached the doors of Gaius' and Merlin's quarters. "Stand guard outside,"

When they entered the room, Gaius was sitting in front of a pile of books but not reading a single one. He was staring at the far wall until he heard the door open and Arthur, Merlin, Gwaine and Elyan walked into the small chambers.

"Merlin!" Gaius cried happily and a grievous weight lifted from the old man's demeanour. He got up and wasted no time in bringing his ward into a hug.

He pulled back and looked at Merlin's injuries, his face becoming serious again.

"Sire? May I?" he said gesturing to Merlin.

He seemed to pick up on the discord in the room quickly and although he didn't want to make it any worse, he also didn't want to aggravate it by ignoring the king's presence.

Arthur nodded, his face was as impassive and unreadable as a stone as he watched Gaius and Merlin.

Merlin was silent and Gaius gave a quick look between the two young men before bustling around for ingredients to treat Merlin's wounds, ordering his shirt be removed and wincing as he saw the full extent of the damage to Merlin's skin and body.

It was the first time Arthur was seeing it as well and the king wasn't able to hide his grimace either. The bite around his shoulder was extensive and large. The puncture points had puckered and turned a deep red with bruising ringing each one. There was older bruising around his ribs, it was yellowing now and Arthur would have guessed there could have been some broken bone. His skin was pale but the rusted colour of dried blood stained it completely.

"What happened?" Gaius asked Merlin.

"The same thing that happened to me. Those wolves got a hold of him," Gwaine supplied for Merlin as he was having difficulty talking.

Merlin didn't want to talk. He didn't want to give any hints to Arthur that Gaius knew about him. The longer he kept that fact ambiguous, the longer Gaius was safe from any duty Arthur felt he had to perform.

Gaius stopped applying a particularly foul-smelling salve onto the bite on his shoulder and really looked at Gwaine for the first time this he entered the room.

"You appear to have recovered very quickly. There's not a mark on you," Gaius said questioningly. Gwaine looked frightened for a moment and glanced quickly at Merlin before training his eyes back on Gaius. The look was not missed by Gaius who followed his gaze to Merlin who stayed silent but was studying Arthur for any suggestion of what he was thinking.

Arthur had taken a seat on the stairs and was watching the whole exchange with mild interest. Merlin wondered if there was a way that he could talk to Gaius alone without raising suspicion. He doubted it. Arthur was not going to let him out of his sight.

Gaius looked at Arthur who was at that moment staring at Merlin with a very thoughtful expression.

"Merlin," Arthur addressed him and stood up so that he towered over him "Does Gaius know?"

Merlin swallowed and glanced quickly to Gaius who was standing there with his mouth open slightly and concern in his eyes.

"No," Merlin lied. His voice was a little scratchy with the strain and he felt an urge to run. Run away from the disappointed look Arthur was giving him.

"Gaius, is Merlin in any immediate danger?" Arthur turned his cold stare to the physician.

"No, sire. He is healing well. No serious injury but I would like to clean and dress the wounds,"

Arthur nodded. "You may finish his treatment in his cell," he advised casually "Elyan, Gwaine, take him to- "

"You can't seriously be doing this!" Gwaine interrupted furiously

"You will do as I instruct, Sir Gwaine!" Arthur shouted and Merlin flinched away.

"Gwaine, please… it's ok," Merlin said and wordlessly cursed himself for making Arthur angry again.

"Take him away," Arthur pointed at Merlin but stood, resolutely staring at Gwaine, challenging his knight.

"Gwaine, it's fine," Merlin said and got to his feet, ready to take himself to the dungeons. He knew the way. He gave one last look to Gaius who was still in shock, watching wide eyed and helpless. He tried to convey to his mentor that everything was ok but he was clearly he was failing.

"I'll have a word with you later, Gaius," Arthur snapped and stormed out, narrowly avoiding barrelling into Percival on his way.

* * *

He lied!

Again!

He lied again. Arthur was shaken and he was …upset.

It was obvious that Gaius would know. It was obvious from the physician's face, from the look of understanding when he saw that Gwaine was healed, the look of fear he gave for Merlin.

Did Merlin not trust him? What did he think he would do to Gaius if he found out that he had known about the magic? Did Merlin think he was a monster? That he was going to punish Gaius for protecting his ward?

Arthur had left. He'd left suddenly because he couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand his trust being spat on and crushed every five minutes. Merlin assured him he was going to explain everything but he couldn't even trust Arthur with the knowledge of Gaius!

Before he knew it he was rounding the corner to his chambers and startling his replacement manservant who gave a little squeak at seeing his master in such a foul mood. He told him to get him water for a bath and snapped at him for trying to help him with his armour. The poor boy ran away with his tail between his legs.

Arthur gave up on his armour because he was shaking too much to try and get it off himself and slumped in his chair by the fire.

"Arthur!" Guinevere came rushing into the room in a hurry. "What's happening? I've just seen Merlin being taken to the cells. The knights won't say why,"

Arthur looked at Gwen and didn't know how to even broach the subject with her. He was fed up of feeling so useless, he'd never been less in control of his life before. Arthur just shook his head at her and tried to say something to appease her but the words weren't coming and he felt dangerously close to just breaking down again.

Merlin should not have this sort of effect on him but he did. He was his best friend and it hurt just as much as Morgana's betrayal, if not more.

"What happened?" Gwen spoke softly and knelt beside his chair, taking his hand.

Did she know about Merlin? They had been friends, close friends when they had been serving together. Was he just being paranoid now?

Yes. Probably.

"Can you ask Gaius to come and see me in throne room in an hour?" he asked.

She nodded and waited for a moment. She might have been waiting for Arthur to say something more, to give her a hint of what was going on but Arthur felt he couldn't do that for her right now. Gwen narrowed her brown eyes and Arthur met her stare. The sun was bouncing off her curls and the worried lines on her face. Arthur shook his head, he couldn't start to explain. She left him with a confused look and some frustration but did not press him further.

The servant returned with the bath tub and water and Arthur finally let the man remove his armour for him.

* * *

Merlin watched closely as Gwaine unenthusiastically locked the door to cell. He was checking to make sure that the knight didn't 'accidentally' leave it open or 'accidentally' dropped the keys within arm's reach of the bars.

As it was, he left the keys in the lock and was about to walk away when Merlin coughed and raised his eyebrows at them.

Gwaine grumbled something profane and retrieved the keys reluctantly before leaving. Merlin understood Gwaine's actions but he would doubt they would do much to appease Arthur.

Gaius had followed them down quietly and hadn't been made to leave by the guards. They were a bit confused anyway. They saw the group and were told by the knights that they were escorting a prisoner but they couldn't see a prisoner. No one was being restrained and there was no one out of the ordinary with them. Just the king's manservant and the physician. Boy, were they shocked when Merlin stepped willingly into the cell and waited for the door to close after him. A small, unhappy smile on his face. It was the kind of smile you had when you had known it was going to rain but you put the washing out anyway.

Gaius waited for Gwaine to leave and for the guards to lose their interest in what was going on before turning to Merlin.

"Arthur knows," he told the older man.

"I gathered as much," Gaius said gravely. "You shouldn't have lied for me,"

"I know," Merlin said sadly. "It was stupid, I've just got so used to doing it," It was true, bold-faced lying had almost become a way of life for him. He didn't even know if he knew how to be honest anymore. Arthur was right to be angry.

Merlin rested his head on the bars and closed his eyes. He let the tiredness wash over him and the aches in his muscles take over his joints. His shoulders sagged and his arms hung against the door of his dark cell.

"How is he taking it?"

"Not well," Merlin said "But not badly either. He just needs to adjust but I'm not helping the process. This sorceress caused her own trouble as well,"

Gaius had managed to dress his shoulder and leg before Gwaine finally succumbed to order to escort Merlin down into the dungeons. His hands were still painful and sore but it was nothing compared to the pain he felt from lying to Arthur again. He looked so upset. So disappointed. They were just beginning to go back to normal and Merlin had to go and be an idiot.

"Don't worry, Merlin," Gaius said and placed a fatherly hand on Merlin's hair. "If it's any consolation, he's doing much better than I had ever expected him to do,"

Merlin gave Gaius a look which told him that on no uncertain terms was that any consolation at all.

"And I will help him find a way to rid Camelot of this sorceress," Gaius added.

"Keep him safe, would you?" Merlin implored with shining eyes.

One of the guards interrupted them in an apologetic way and told Gaius that he was requested in the throne room. Gaius raised his eyebrow at Merlin and left with a reassuring nod.


	8. Chapter 8

_So, this is the last chapter. I didn't know whether to post this as two seperate chapters or just one final big chapter. However, I am now working on my next fanfic and I am excited about it so I didn't think it fair to leave this one hanging around. _

_Again, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed and read this. It was my first Merlin fic and I did struggle with it in places. I really welcome constructive crit, especially around characterisation and whether I am staying true to the show. Hopefully, whatever you say in your review will make my next Merlin fic even better. Keep an eye out for my next one :)_

Arthur sat at his throne with Guinevere by his side. She was still at a loss to what was happening but had kept mercifully quiet. Arthur didn't like keeping her in the dark but he really didn't know how to start. He had told her about the sorceress and what was happening with the weather but had conveniently left out all the parts concerning Merlin. It made for a very disjointed tale and Guinevere was under no illusion that she hadn't been told the full story.

It was part of the reason she was here now. He had to talk to Gaius and she felt she should be included from now on. She was right but this meeting was bound to generate more questions than it would answer.

Gaius entered looking harrowed but ready to face whatever was coming.

"Has Merlin told you about the sorceress we encountered Gaius?" Arthur began. It was his main priority at the moment. He had to neutralise the threat to Camelot and then deal with Merlin. "He seemed to think that you might be able to spread some light on the issue,"

"It wasn't… the main topic of conversation… but he did briefly mention it," Gaius said with a trace of defiance. "If I could have more time with Merlin I'm sure I could gather further useful information for you,"

"Merlin is not to have any more visitors," Arthur said leaning forward in his seat. He felt Guinevere sit up at the statement. "She had a stone that controlled the weather. She said her kingdom had once encompassed the lands of Camelot and Mercia, a world between worlds,"

Gaius nodded. "She sounds like a powerful being," he consented. "I will consult the records but I fear that I might not be able to help in this instance. It is not anything that I have come across before,"

"Are we to wait until she decides to attack us again?" Arthur argued.

"It may be our only option, sire," Gaius replied.

Arthur didn't like it. He was a man of action. He didn't like not being able to go out and fight the enemy, he didn't like not telling his queen everything, he didn't like that Merlin was sitting in a cell waiting for him to do something with him.

"She wanted Merlin," he said slowly. "Could we use that?"

"Use Merlin …as bait?" Gaius enquired slowly. "That may be difficult from his place in the cells,"

Arthur sat back and tried not to look like a sulking child. Gwen was getting more agitated in her seat the more confused she became and Arthur was trying desperately not to snap at her to _sit still_. He didn't want to lose more friends today. Instead he flashed an irritated glance, which she returned in full force.

"Find out as much as you can about this sorceress and then come and see me," Arthur said finally.

"Sire?" Gaius asked, deftly ignoring the clear dismissal in his last order.

"Yes?"

"Merlin is loyal to you," he said "But he lets his fear get the better of him,"

"Please… just leave, Gaius," Arthur sighed and tried to will away the headache that was creeping up on him.

"Yes, my lord," Gaius left swiftly leaving the two royals alone.

Arthur looked upon Gwen. She was so lovely even when she was giving him that disapproving look. Maybe if he told her how pretty she is, she would be kind to him.

* * *

Merlin hadn't heard from Gaius since he had first been put in the cell. In fact he hadn't heard from anyone. Gwaine had tried to make it down but Merlin had heard the guards tell him that King Arthur had ordered that there must be no visitors for him. That made him slightly angry. He understood that Arthur was upset with him but that seemed just a little petty. It had been a day almost. He had not slept much and no one had arranged any meals for him.

He needed to know what was happening. They could be attacked by a crazy, snow queen at any second and he wouldn't know about it.

Did he really intend to just leave him down here with no company, no food and nothing to do?

His answer came in the form of Gwen. She had ordered the guards out of the way and stalked gracefully through the dungeon until she came to Merlin's cell. She stood in front of him, a picture of regal beauty in the dark and damp prison. The red and gold of her dress contrasting greatly against her dismal grey surroundings. She looked conflicted as she positioned herself in front of the bars of Merlin's cage. He stood up from his cot to address her. He didn't need to ask what was troubling her, he could take a guess it had something to do with him.

"Arthur has told me that you're a… warlock," she huffed and blinked at him.

Merlin shuffled uncomfortably on his feet, not quite certain how to respond. He had never really spoken to Gwen on her views on magic and he wasn't entirely sure they were favourable.

"Yes," he said as that was all he could say. Honesty was difficult for him but it was still baby-steps, one-word answers were easier.

"You've always been this way?" she asked

"Yes," This appeared to be the only thing he knew how to say.

"He didn't say a lot. He's a bit …overwhelmed," Gwen said brushing the folds of her skirt absentmindedly and not looking directly at Merlin.

Merlin nodded. There was not a one-word answer for that. He was a little overwhelmed himself. Gwen shifted her eyes around the dungeons uncomfortably, she looked at the lock on the door, the straw on the floor, the stone floor, anywhere but Merlin.

"Gwen," Merlin said as he managed to catch her eye and hold it. "How do you feel about it? I'm still the same person I always was. I'm still your friend. You know that, right?"

She smiled kindly and stepped forward towards the bars. "I know you are," she said and took his bandaged hand in hers. "It's just a shock. We're all wondering why you hadn't told us sooner. The knights have filled me in more than Arthur was able to. We're all a little… hurt, to be truthful,"

Merlin nodded and accepted that they were hurt. He couldn't help the small flutter of shame that trickled down his throat. Gwen was looking on him with wide eyes that didn't do anything to hide the question behind that statement.

"I have spent my whole life hiding Gwen. It's a hard habit to break," he said but he knew this wasn't enough. "The threat of execution also does wonders for a man's secret-keeping abilities,"

The joke fell flat

"Did you honestly think that we would have turned you in? That Arthur would have had you killed?"

"You didn't see him Gwen. He almost killed me himself when he found out,"

"But he didn't. And he won't. Why do you not trust him? He trusts you. He still trusts you…after everything," she whispered desperately "You could get out of this cell anytime. You only have two guards at your door. Gwaine is ready to stage a jail-break at the drop of a hat. You haven't been restrained. He just wants his trust returned,"

Merlin's ears rang with her words and he was trying to blink back the tears burning in his eyes.

"What do I do?" he asked feebly "He's only doing this out of some sense of kingly duty now and … I think… to hurt me back,"

Gwen nodded and didn't deny that Arthur was just lashing out. Merlin suspected as much. He'd do the same if he was Arthur.

"Just stay here and I'll talk to him," she sighed. "It's a difficult situation. Half the castle knows about you now and it won't be long until it gets down into the city. This means that Arthur has to make a decision on magic. Either it is still banned and you stay here forever or you are freed and magic is allowed again,"

"And that goes against all his father stood for…" Merlin finished for her and she bit her lip in anxiety.

"Don't worry," she said resolutely. "It'll be fine. Are you hungry?"

Merlin nodded quickly at her with a smile.

"I don't think he's realised that he's even stopped the kitchen staff coming down here," she said with a roll of her eyes and Merlin actually began to feel like they were friends again, with Gwen, at least, he felt like nothing had changed too drastically. "I'll get something for you,"

"Thanks Gwen," he murmured.

She whisked her way out of the dungeon with an order to let kitchen staff through. The guards didn't dare argue with the Queen.

* * *

Arthur was sulking. No he wasn't sulking. He was spending some time alone in his room. In his bed. Under the covers. Fully dressed. In the middle of the day.

But definitely not sulking.

Or sleeping.

Sleeping was not something that Arthur was finding very easy at the moment. He was tired of waiting for something to happen. The spring was slowly breaking through the ice of the winter, buds and leaves poking through the snow. The land was beginning to fight back against the magic that had held it so frozen. He couldn't believe that the sorceress would just let this land mend, that she would leave so quickly without putting up much of a fight, that she would let Camelot recover. Maybe she was wiser than they had thought. Maybe she was biding her time or recouping her resources.

Gaius was still searching through old texts trying to find something that would enlighten them to what they were dealing with. He was still a little cool with the king because of Merlin.

Merlin.

It had been a three days since he had Merlin put in a cell. Gwen had spoken to him about Merlin's imprisonment and his motives for it several times since then. For the most part she was absolutely right but he wasn't going to admit it.

She had told him that Merlin was only still in prison because Merlin had hurt him. That he didn't know how he felt about magic and he was putting off making a decision about it. That he wanted some retaliation to the lies. That he didn't want to face his emotions regarding those lies. That he was in denial about the whole thing and Merlin wandering around freely would just remind him about it.

Gwen was annoyingly right about a lot of things.

She had come in earlier and noticed him sulking (not sulking…resting) and told him to go and talk to Merlin.

Well, he really didn't want to do that. Merlin had a habit of just infuriating him every time they had a discussion about it. Anyway, she was visiting him regularly enough for everyone. This, of course, may be due to the fact that he wouldn't let anyone else visit. A matter that just seemed to exasperate Gaius even more.

As if he had been summoned mystically by Arthur's thoughts, Gaius appeared at his door. It was open and Gaius had a clear view of the unhappy king but he reached out a hand and knocked anyway.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the ridiculousness but Gaius waited for the command to enter anyway.

Merlin never knocked.

"Sire?" Gaius entered with a book under one arm and raised an eyebrow "Are you ill?"

Arthur huffed a sigh and sat up, throwing off the covers in one swift movement.

"No Gaius…just resting," he said and cleared his throat. Gaius still kept the eyebrow up near his hairline. "Was there something you needed?" Arthur prompted and the eyebrow finally lowered.

"Yes sire," Gaius began. "I believe I have found something of use in the ancient texts. The stone is called the 'Sapphire of Boreas'" Gaius said ominously and placed the book he had been holding down onto the table in the chambers. He skilfully found the page and pointed out the picture in the far right.

Arthur recognised it straight away. The cut and the colour of the Sapphire could not be mistaken, it had caught his eye as soon as he had peeled Merlin's fingers away from it.

"That's it," he confirmed.

"The stone holds the power of the North Wind. It feeds off the magic of others to create powerful weather and it is said to be the birth of the 'Werewulf'. If a man without magic were to touch the stone they would be transformed into a wolf for the rest of their days,"

"Yes," Arthur said "Merlin freed them, including Gwaine. He could control it but he destroyed it as well," It also explained why Merlin was so adamant that nobody touch it.

"I do not doubt it," Gaius said "It takes great power to harness the will of the stone. Merlin is very powerful,"

Merlin? This was the same Merlin they were talking about? Arthur looked at Gaius but the old man only nodded sympathetically. Gaius knew the king was having trouble with the whole Merlin is a warlock thing without adding 'very powerful' to that title.

"Ok," Arthur said, moving swiftly on. "So what does this tell us about the woman?"

"The stone is said to have a protector and a mother," Gaius said "'Orithyia'. In legend she is the wife of the God Boreas. She is a goddess of the mountain wind. She is said to have been gifted the stone by her husband, but because her love of power corrupted her so much, Boreas decided to teach her a lesson and made it so the stone stole her power whenever she used it, and weakened her. She is on a constant search for power, she is attracted to magic because it is the greatest power in this world,"

"So, not a sorceress. We're dealing with a Goddess here?" Arthur asked.

"I fear so, my lord," Gaius nodded gravely. "Destroying the stone probably maddened her but without it she will be strong. Every moment we wait, she will become stronger and stronger,"

"Where do we find her?" Arthur asked urgently. They couldn't let her grow to her full potential.

"I don't think we can go to her," Gaius said slowly. "But we may be able to get her to come to us,"

"How?" Arthur did not like the look Gaius was giving him.

"Merlin,"

"Merlin?"

Gaius let that eyebrow get away from him again.

* * *

Merlin had not had any visitors that day and he was getting bored. He says 'visitors' but really he meant that Gwen hadn't come down yet and Gwaine hadn't lost it and knocked out the guards yet. Although, they were becoming increasingly more nervous every time he came down.

It was uncomfortable in his cell. It was all stone and bars. There was some straw but not enough to cushion his head. Nights were difficult and he spent most of them looking out for rats.

He was just beginning to get hungry when he heard footsteps making their way down the corridor to his cell. His stomach growled in answer and he quickly got to his feet to wait by the bars for the nice kitchen-girl to give him his bread and broth. He couldn't remember her name, he felt bad about that. It was something like Sarah or Sophie or Susan?

However, the person that stood in front of him with his plate of broth was definitely not a 'Susan'.

"A-Arthur," he stuttered in surprise.

The king stood before him. Clean, dressed in plain clothes, his hair was sticking up in places like he had just gotten out of bed but his eyes held dark bags like he hadn't slept in one. Well, that made both of them.

"Hello Merlin," Arthur said far too cheerfully. "I brought you…food,"

Arthur pushed the bowl through the bars and Merlin took it carefully. He decided not to ask where his bread had gone. That might be pushing his luck.

Arthur hadn't deigned to come and see his former manservant at all before. Not that Merlin wasn't glad to see him, it was just that he couldn't assume it was a casual visit. Had he decided what to do with him yet? Should he say something? Did he need to say something?

Why wasn't Arthur saying anything?

Oh. Right.

He was waiting for him to eat.

Merlin sat down on his cot and began slurping the broth up quickly with his spoon, watching Arthur carefully.

He looked a little tired. He was probably not far away from losing his temper again.

Merlin wondered if he should start the conversation. Would that push him too quickly? Would he get angry?

Gwen had told him that he needed to trust Arthur. That Arthur needed to see that he trusted him. And with that knowledge, Merlin decided to wait for his king to start. He finished his broth and he stomach hummed happily with the warmth that entered it. Placing the bowl down on the place beside him on the cot, he stood up and muttered his thanks and waited.

And waited.

And Arthur stared.

And stared.

He was testing Merlin again, wasn't he?

He was seeing if Merlin would break and start trying to take control of the situation. Well, not this time Arthur, this time he was going to do what he was told.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

He just couldn't win, could he?

"You came to see me, not the other way around,"

Merlin flinched at how petulant that sounded and reprimanded himself for not keeping to the 'respectful Merlin' plan.

"Sorry, sire," he murmured and Arthur cocked his head to one side in bewilderment. "Have you found out any more about our lady-friend?" he asked in a vain attempt to change the conversation.

Arthur seemed relieved for it. "Her name is Orithyia. She's a goddess,"

"Oh," Merlin nodded like he understood but didn't really have a clue. Arthur nodded back in agreement but he doubted that he really understood any more than Merlin did. "Look, Arthur. I'm sorry about…everything,"

Arthur looked at Merlin and he could see the pain still glimmering in the depths of his eyes. But he smiled anyway.

"No," he said "I don't think I made it very easy for you to be friends with me. To trust me with this …secret you had. I'm not a rational person. I get angry quickly and I never made it a secret how distrustful I was of magic. This is not your fault,"

Suddenly Merlin felt lighter than he had in days, he felt like smiling, he felt like laughing but he had to say something first.

"It's not your fault either, Arthur," Merlin said and he stepped forward to the bars so he could look Arthur seriously in the eye "I should have trusted you. You are going to be a great king, Arthur. The best that the world has ever known. I just wanted to be there to see it,"

Arthur smirked at his friend's over-confidence in him and Merlin knew that Arthur didn't quite believe him yet. He would though, one day, Arthur would know that Merlin was telling the truth about this and about a lot of other things as well.

"Merlin," he said "I want to get this mess sorted out," he gestured to the prison "But I need your help first,"

"Of course you do," Merlin laughed "I told you that you wouldn't last long without me,"

"It might put you in danger but Gaius assures me that you'd be able to handle it,"

"When is it not dangerous?"

"We're going to use you as bait,"

"W-what?"

* * *

Gwen had been right again.

Arthur did feel better about going to speak to Merlin.

The plan had been set into motion, the knights had been informed, and the guards. The city had been put on high alert and the trap was about to be baited. A platform had been placed in the centre of the castle's tournament arena. Arthur had tried not to think about the fact that it was the same platform that was used for execution pyres. However, this time, a cage had been placed in the middle and not a pole stuck into a pile of wood.

Arthur watched from the castle battlements as the preparations were made. Gwaine had asked if the cage was really necessary and Arthur had told him that it was and Gwaine was not to try and open it under any circumstances.

But Arthur understood the temptation as he watched the guards lead Merlin to the door and lock him inside. The skinny man blinked in the bright sunlight, looking gaunt and ill, he looked around at the castle before finally spotting Arthur and gave him an enthusiastic wave. Arthur rolled his eyes but gave a weak wave back at him.

'Powerful warlock', his arse.

Merlin had taken the plan quite well. He didn't seem to feel worried about being made bait to a Goddess who wanted to steal his power, or kidnap him, or kill him… or all of the above. His confidence gave Arthur confidence but it wasn't Orithyia that he was worried about at the moment. It was the people of Camelot. They were scattered around the yard, getting on with their business. They had all heard about Merlin, the sorcerer that had been locked up in the castle dungeons for the last week. The sorcerer that the king would not have put to death. The sorcerer that would not be banished. They stared openly at Merlin being placed in the cage and rumours of public execution sprang up around the castle like a plague.

The plan was that Merlin had to be bait. And to be bait, he had to make himself look attractive. Arthur scoffed at the thought. Fortunately, for Merlin, looking attractive meant using magic. Lots of magic. So the Goddess would sense it and come running. The cage was there so that the people of Camelot felt safe. It was a false security as he was sure that if Merlin had wanted to hurt anyone then a few metal bars would probably not stop him. Now Merlin could not really attract her holy craziness from within the walls of the castle because that would be stupid. They wanted Orithyia out in the open, in a battlefield, a place where they could fight freely and away from the innocent citizens of the city. The tournament arena was the obvious choice.

He hadn't reckoned for the innate curiosity of his people. As soon as Merlin was placed in the cage, the place began to fill up with people from the city wanting to get a peek at the warlock. Like he was some freak in a show.

Arthur stood agitated at his place on the battlements. They shouldn't be gaping at him like he was entertainment. Maybe, putting him in the arena wasn't the best idea. There were even stalls for them to take a seat in, perfect position to throw some vegetables at him. The murmurs started in earnest and the arena filled with people from all parts of the town.

The knights arrived at the scene, obviously sensing trouble brewing. Sir Gwaine was at the head of the pack, not hiding his temper at the crowd. Percival got to the front and he and Leon motioned for the people to move back a little further. Merlin looked a little worried from his seated position in the cage but he hadn't let it panic him yet. The crowd went still and silent when the knights had arrived. They wanted to see the show. He noticed some of them glancing up at him, wandering if he was going to give the order.

Then the first egg was thrown with a furious hiss of 'sorcerer'. It hit the bars of Merlin's cage with a crunch that rang out in the quiet. Merlin had flinched away from it and looked resonantly up at Arthur. The king gritted his teeth and tried not to let the anger reveal itself to his subjects. Merlin was trying to help them and they would reject him so quickly.

Very much like Arthur had done when he first found out. Merlin still had the thin cut on his pale neck and Arthur felt the shame overcome him, not for the first time.

Gwaine had drawn his sword at the attack on Merlin and Percival had rushed over to him and managed to get the hot-head to put the weapon away again. He did so reluctantly with a realisation that violence was not going to solve this problem. Leon gave a warning out to the crowd that the next person to show hostility to Merlin would be brought before the king himself for their punishment. He bid them to leave as there would be no execution and to remain here might be dangerous.

Slowly the crowd dispersed but the man who threw the egg was one of the last to leave. He spat a few profanities at Merlin but was jostled away forcefully by Gwaine in the end. Arthur could hope that this would be the last show of aggression towards Merlin but in reality it was probably one of the first. Maybe even just one of many for Merlin.

The only people that were left were the knights and the guards and some of the servants to the castle whose jobs brought them to the arena on a daily basis. They would keep their opinions to themselves if they wanted to keep their jobs, Arthur thought venomously as he spotted one or two give Merlin a nervous look.

The warlock looked up to his king in a silent request for permission.

Arthur nodded. He could start.

Merlin grinned and motioned for the knights to move back with a playful wave of his hands. Arthur had never seen Merlin look so comfortable and as the gold entered into his eyes Arthur guessed that he was seeing a part of Merlin that he didn't show to many. Now he was baring it for everyone to see and leaving himself vulnerable to insults and jeers.

Arthur watched in wonder as Merlin held his hand out to the smashed pieces of egg shell and yolk on the bars of his cage. The pieces slowly fit back together, swirling in the air to go back to the smooth surface of an unbroken egg. It moved carefully into the cage and landed softly in Merlin's hand. So delicately placed. The egg was perfect again and Arthur wasn't sure if it wasn't better than it had been before. It looked fresher. Merlin laid his other hand over the top so the egg was hidden in his cupped fingers and Merlin smiled knowingly. Arthur felt himself leaning forward, opened mouthed as Merlin brought his lips to his fingers and whispered something to the egg. When Merlin opened his hands again a small yellow chick stood up and ruffled its feathers indignantly as Merlin placed it beside him.

Unknowingly to Arthur, Gaius had arrived at the arena and chuckled fondly at Merlin as he walked over to the cage. The knights had been watching transfixed, completely forgetting that they were meant to be guarding Merlin and Arthur couldn't blame them, he had lent so far forward in an effort to see better that he had nearly thrown himself off the battlement.

Gaius put an affectionate hand on Merlin's healing shoulder and had a short conversation and Arthur realised with a guilt that this would have been the first time the physician would have been able to see his ward in a week. He walked away from the battlements after that, he needed to go back to his chambers and think things through, he needed to talk to Gwen. He needed to process what he saw Merlin do. It was not a spectacular feat of magic, by any means. After all it was nothing like the magic he saw when Merlin had changed Gwaine. But that was the problem, that hadn't been Merlin's magic that he had seen back then, that had been the magic of the North Wind. A cold and powerful magic, yes, but nothing like the magic he just witnessed.

Merlin had just given life. He had brought a chick to life with a few whispered words. His magic was different and powerful in a subtle way.

He had seen Gwen a few hours later, she had been busy and was kindly holding off questions from council members on the laws of magic. Some of them had been furious that Merlin had not been killed as soon as he had arrived in Camelot so he could not begin to guess what they were like now that Merlin was openly performing magic in public. Arthur and the knights were battle-ready, dressed in full armour, and a guard had been placed at the warning bell with orders to ring it at the first sign of the Goddess. Therefore he wasn't really in the mood to listen to what some old council members thought about the whole situation.

Gwen had come into his chambers with a smile on her face and told Arthur what she had just seen Merlin doing. Apparently he had melted the snow around his cage in the arena and made a meadow spring up around him. That would explain the wild flowers now adorning his wife's hair.

"He's amazing," she said, eyes sparkling. The flowers were of all shapes and colours. One particularly sweet flower matched the blush in her cheeks. She grew quiet at Arthur's half-smile and took his hand. "You should go and see him,"

"I've seen him," Arthur said roughly "I've seen him every day for the last seven years. It's Merlin, for gods' sake,"

Even he recoiled at the scorn in his own voice. Gwen just glared at him significantly.

"Ok," he surrendered "I'll go and see him,"

"No time like the present," she chirped happily and pulled him out of his seat by his arm.

"When did you get so pushy?" he laughed.

"Well, you made me Queen, remember?" she chuckled.

It wasn't long before Arthur was picking his way through the wild flower meadow that had suddenly sprung up in his tournament grounds. The knights were looking relaxed but ready at the sides of the cage and Gwaine looked like he had calmed down considerably. They were all looking down at the ground in front of the cage, including Merlin. It wasn't until he had got closer that he saw the young children talking to Merlin. A little boy and girl.

They were covered in butterflies.

Arthur stopped and watched as Merlin laughed as one of the butterflies rested on a little girl's nose and she crossed her bright green eyes to see it.

Arthur rolled his own eyes and cleared his throat to make his presence known. The knights jumped to attention and Merlin lost his concentration and the butterflies disappeared. The children went wide-eyed but quickly scattered away.

"Even your magic is girly," Arthur mocked and Merlin shrugged. "Leave us for a moment," he ordered the knights.

They went away with a couple of backwards glances but ultimately left them alone.

"Show me something," Arthur said when they had gone far enough.

Merlin looked curious and little hesitant. "But not girly?"

"Preferably not," Arthur agreed.

"You don't like butterflies? I thought everyone liked butterflies?" Merlin whined a little.

"_Mer_lin,"

"Ok," he said and sat up straighter. Arthur even thought he would roll up his sleeves for effect but he didn't. "But don't be worried, I know what I am doing,"

Merlin's eyes flashed with gold before Arthur could tell him that he was never scared and the cage burst into flames, enveloping Merlin within it. Arthur staggered backwards in shock and he heard the knights yell in the background. His heart raced and his breath came in short bursts with the fear that was restricting his chest. What had he done? Was he alive?

Out of the flames in front of him came the shape of a slender dragon. It's body looked like it was made of molten lava as it stepped slowly out of the cage and stretched it's fiery wings outwards, it looked at Arthur with flame-filled eyes and began to smile. Teeth made of charred stone, embers and smoke billowing from its nostrils.

The knights arrived with drawn swords and Arthur didn't know what to tell them.

Soon the dragon became much more symbolic, it manoeuvred itself in to the position that replicated the Pendragon flag and winked at him ironically.

Thankfully the whole flaming dragon and the flames engulfing the cage quickly burst into butterflies and flew away. This left a very smug-looking Merlin sitting cross-legged within his cage.

"I bet you don't mind butterflies now,"

"Merlin!" Arthur bellowed. He was about to go on about how stupid that had been and how he'd thought that Merlin had died. That he could have hurt someone, that he could have hurt himself. But Merlin's smile faded at Arthur's anger and he started to look panicked. Arthur closed his eyes and swallowed his fury "Let's just… keep to the butterflies for now. No dragons." He said calmly.

Merlin gulped and nodded. "Would you like to see something else?"

Arthur turned to his knights who had already got the message and were moving away again now that they felt everything was safe. Arthur looked a Merlin for what seemed like a long time but really was only about a few seconds.

"Gaius says you are powerful," Arthur blurted. He didn't know why this particular fact was bothering him so much but it was. He'd never put 'Merlin' and 'powerful' in the same breath before and he was finding the concept particularly difficult. However, after that display, Arthur was starting to see it now.

Merlin didn't look too astonished by the statement. "That's what people keep telling me," he said with a grim smile.

"What people?" Arthur said as he narrowed his eyes. Who else would know about Merlin?

"Well, Druids mostly," then because Arthur could tell that this wasn't the whole truth he glared at Merlin a little more. "And the Great Dragon," Merlin added on receipt of said glare.

"The Dragon!?" Arthur yelled then lowered his voice because the knights looked over in concern. "The one I supposedly killed?" he whispered.

Merlin looked a little guilty then said "Surprise!" with a nervous smile.

Arthur reminded himself to breathe and to not get angry with every new revelation as he guessed it might be a very long day if he did. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "So… the dragon told you that you were a powerful warlock?"

"Do you think we could get into this later? I think it's probably going to take a very long time to explain, it's all to do with destinies and saving your life and prophesies and it all gets rather complicated," Merlin said quickly. "I would do it now but there is a very angry woman behind you,"

Arthur swivelled around and put his hand automatically to the hilt of his sword. Merlin was right. She did not look happy at all.

Orithyia stood, taller than Arthur had remembered her, eyes and hair were white and she had a faint glow to her skin. She looked healthier than she had before. She looked so much younger than she had before. Her eyes locked onto Merlin in an expression of pure lust and it made Arthur feel a little uneasy to be standing between them, as if he was interrupting something personal.

It all happened very quickly. She turned her head deliberately to look at Arthur, her eyes looked dead. No colour or pupils in them, just whiteness and small bluish veins. He couldn't bring himself look away. He started to feel very cold, very numb. His brain started to slow but he could still not look away. Sounds and colours started to fade from him and a dull humming blocked his senses. He wanted to reach for his sword but couldn't remember where he kept it. His heartbeat deafened him. Vaguely he registered that the knights had become aware of the presence of the goddess and had started running towards them. The warning bell sounded. A dog barked. But it was not his men that made it to him first but Merlin.

He blocked his view of Orithyia and Arthur blinked out of his trance and briefly wondered how Merlin got out of his cage. Oh right. Powerful warlock.

Merlin's worried voice broke through the haze "Arthur, snap out of it,"

Suddenly a great force of wind hit them. Merlin slammed into Arthur's chest and they were thrown a few feet in the air. They landed ungracefully with a crunch in the long grass of Merlin's meadow.

"Ow," Merlin groaned then jumped to his feet. Placing himself between Arthur and Orithyia. Arthur got shakily to his feet. He registered that he was trembling in cold and looked confused as ice crystals that had formed in his hair and eyebrows broke off and dropped to the floor.

The knights had reached them with their swords at the ready and their shields raised. They formed a protective barrier around Arthur and Merlin.

"Hand over the sorcerer," she said "We belong together. My beautiful sapphire has gone but he will be more than ample compensation for it,"

Her eyes widened with longing and madness.

"He's not a sorcerer," Arthur said, finding his voice again. He thought he would wait for his teeth to stop chattering as well. "He's a warlock,"

Orithyia laughed gleefully. "Even better," she said and Merlin gave Arthur a 'Thank you but not that helpful' kind of look. "Now give him here and when I rule your pitiful land I will show sympathy and mercy towards you for such a gift,"

"You'll have to come and get him," Arthur growled and unsheathed his own sword.

"Very well," she replied. Her arm rose into the air and opened her mouth into a silent scream.

The tornado of wind and ice spiralled down from the sky and whistled as it split through the bright sunshine. Clouds billowed out from nowhere and Camelot darkened under their stormy cover. The tornado of ice shards and hail changed direction suddenly and Orithyia pointed her outstretched arm towards them and the wind followed her command and her shrill scream.

Merlin shuffled to the front of the knights before Arthur could bring him back and held out his own outstretched arm towards the Goddess.

He brought up a shield of fire with a few muttered words and a flash of his eyes. The tornado hit the shield but could not penetrate it. Ice melted against fire and the wind died against the force of the blaze Merlin had created. The warlock started backing up and motioning for the knights to do the same. Arthur wondered why until he saw the fire die in the middle and Orithyia walk through with a face like thunder.

"Why do you protect these puny men?" she sulked and stalked closer to Merlin. He stood and waited for her to get closer and Arthur questioned why he didn't shoot something else at her. "They imprisoned you, put you in a cage, the king even drew his sword on you,"

Arthur thought Merlin had actually paused to consider what she was saying, he was too late to realise that she had caught Merlin in her icy gaze before she placed a long, delicate finger on the cut on the warlock's neck and started whispering a long enchantment into Merlin's ear.

"Don't touch him!" Arthur roared and charged forward with the knights behind him. He slashed forward with his sword but felt it bounce off an invisible shield that surrounded her and Merlin. He watched helplessly as Merlin fell to his knees. She scowled at Arthur in anger but quickly returned to holding Merlin's gaze and continued whispering into his ear.

At the point where she had touched Merlin's neck, ice had formed and was spreading up past his jaw, his lips turned blue and his eyelashes started to frost over.

"Merlin!" Arthur yelled as he furiously slashed and kicked at the shield. His arms jarred, it was like slashing against stone. He had to get to them, she'd kill him. "Merlin!"

Merlin blinked once. Then again.

Orithyia stopped whispering and looked at Merlin with confusion.

He blinked again and his eyes flashed gold.

Orithyia was thrown across the arena and slammed into one of the stalls walls. Her shield was broken and Arthur made it to Merlin's side in time for him to start shivering convulsively. Arthur helped him to his feet and stood up in front of him protectively as Orithyia staggered forward with murder in her eyes.

"_Acwele!"_ Merlin shouted from behind him and bright streak of lightening burst from Merlin's fingertips and hit Orithyia squarely in the chest and she fell to the ground.

Arthur looked at Merlin briefly. He was still cold and shivering but he had never seen him look so dark. So dominant and foreboding, his eyes burned gold and his face appeared to glow in the dim light. His eyes looked so ancient and so tormented that suddenly Arthur had no trouble in believing that Merlin was powerful.

Merlin met his stare just as his eyes were returning to their normal blue and he saw his friend and his servant again. The youth and untroubled countenance returned to him.

Merlin quickly became serious again as he watched Orithyia get up and scream in frustration at him.

"Arthur, that was a killing spell," Merlin said darkly "She should be dead,"

Arthur looked at Orithyia drawing herself up into her full height. Her hair was a little messy but she definitely wasn't dead.

"She looks very healthy for a dead person," Arthur muttered.

"YOU CAN'T KILL ME!" she screeched and wind began to spiral around her "I. Am. A. Goddess! A creature of the Earth and Sky. I will be held in the hearts and foolish thoughts of men until long after all of you have died and been forgotten. No puny King and his pet sorcerer will defy me,"

She let off a powerful and concentrated wave of wind and ice which picked Arthur and Merlin off their feet and flung them into the knights.

_"Fealle Gyden!"_ Merlin yelled, arm outstretched. The earth rumbled and Arthur staggered while trying to recover his balance, he saw Gwaine fall over spectacularly in the corner of his eye and Arthur mentally took note to mock him mercilessly about it later.

However, at that moment, there were more interesting things happening. The earth exploded with lava at the feet of the Goddess and she screamed as the molten rock hit her feet and began bubbling up her body. Arthur thought he would go deaf from the screams she emitted. The wind seemed to join in her anguished yells. Howling and whistling around her. It began to rain, ice cold droplets steamed off of the lava, trying to cool it and heed it's movement up her body. She tried to break her arms out of the stone but more lava bubbled forward and trapped it again.

The rain pelted them and the hail stung their faces and ears but Merlin kept his eyes firmly locked on her with his teeth bared in the effort of the magic that was pouring from him.

They watched in horrified fascination as the lava completely consumed Orithyia then cooled into hard rock.

The rain stopped.

The wind died.

The clouds thinned.

Then Merlin fell over unconscious.

Arthur dropped beside him and rolled him onto his back, not before Gwaine and Percival also arrived to provide help.

"Get Gaius," Arthur ordered and Gwaine ran off at full pelt to the physician's chambers.

"What happened?" asked Leon.

"I don't really know," Arthur said. He shook Merlin's body and felt his neck for a pulse. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief when he felt it strong and healthy under his fingertips.

Merlin shifted and blinked his eyes open again. Blue. Like normal.

"Over-exerting yourself again, Merlin?" Arthur said cheerfully as Merlin's eyes finally focused on him.

"I've had a particularly trying month," Merlin agreed.

Arthur just smiled. "Can you tell us what you've done to our guest?" he said pointing to the cooling mound of rock in the middle of his tournament arena.

Merlin got up with the help of Arthur and Percival and stumbled over to the rock. Merlin put his ear against it and waited, listening for something. It was quite a while before Merlin tapped the surface of the mound with his knuckle and then put his ear back to listen again.

Arthur was considering whether Merlin had finally lost it when they all heard the resounding crack that came from the centre of the rock. Merlin placed his hand on top the mound and pushed. Nothing happened.

"Um," Merlin said

"Yes?" Arthur was quite enjoying a confused Merlin.

"Could I have some muscle please?" Merlin asked sheepishly. "I need to push the top off…"

Percival and Leon walked forward and pushed where Merlin indicated they should push. There was some further cracking and then top of the mound slowly broke away revealing a small, bright diamond in its centre.

"Don't tell me that's her," Arthur said disbelievingly.

Merlin smiled and pulled the diamond away from the rock and held it up to the light.

"She was right. I couldn't kill her." He said happily. "But I could give her a prison. You may want to put that somewhere safe," Merlin chucked the gem to Arthur, who fumbled to catch it.

"This is her?" he asked again.

Merlin nodded with a big toothy grin

Arthur watched from his place at the table in his chambers as Merlin scurried around the room placing his breakfast in front of him, getting him water, listing his duties for the day and presenting his armour. Arthur looked down at his breakfast, no food had been stolen from the plate, and it had been brought on time and even looked presentable. Arthur had been woken up on time and dressed in time to actually eat his breakfast at a leisurely pace and Merlin looked clean and well-groomed for a change. He hadn't tripped over his own feet once and he kept calling Arthur 'sire'.

It was Merlin's first day back as Arthur's servant and out from behind any bars or in any shackles.

And it was freaking Arthur out.

He didn't like respectful and competent Merlin. He didn't know how he felt about Merlin as his servant now he knew that he could kill Arthur with his little finger. It felt odd and wrong.

This was all going to take some time to get used to it. Should he get used to it? Should he get a different servant? It didn't seem right anymore, somehow. Merlin was more his equal than ever before.

"Merlin," Arthur interrupted as Merlin was listing his meetings for the day. Arthur hadn't listened to a single thing on the list.

"Yes, sire?" he questioned politely.

"Why are you doing all this?" Arthur asked, ignoring the 'sire' again.

"I'm your… manservant?" Merlin looked apprehensive and Arthur realised that he was probably worried if, after everything, Arthur still wanted him as manservant. Well, Arthur wasn't sure about that but not for the reasons Merlin was probably thinking about.

"Yes, you are," Arthur reassured him. "But why are you doing such a good job of it?"

Merlin looked a little hurt at the insinuation that he didn't normally do a good job but they both knew the offended look was just for show. "I take pride in my work?" Merlin tried but the question in his voice betrayed him.

"No, you don't,"

"I do sometimes," he said with a hurt look. Arthur narrowed his eyes at him "Ok, look. I just didn't want you to regret trusting me,"

Arthur sighed and a small smile played on his lips. Merlin was trying too hard. He stood, with an uncomfortable tension in his shoulders, picking at the grain in the wood of the table.

"Ok," Arthur said softly "What are my meetings today?"

Merlin smiled, happy to get back to some sense of normality. Arthur wasn't sure they could go back to 'normality'. Too much had changed now. It made him rather nostalgic and sad for the loss of a way of life.

But, he had to admit, apart from the awkwardness of their current situation, Merlin seemed happier and freer than he had before.

"Well, the council want to convene on the lifting of the rationing put in place by Gwen, they feel that the stores are sufficiently stocked and food will be sufficient until the next harvest. And the knights would like to discuss the resting place of…the diamond, the vaults perhaps… or somewhere not so easy to break into," Arthur let that comment slide this once but made a note to ask Merlin about it later. "And both of them want a meeting to discuss the laws surrounding…you know…" Merlin trailed off in an embarrassed mutter.

"Both groups?" Arthur questioned.

"Well the knights don't want the decision to be left to the council (Gwaine said something about jumped-up, self-righteous group of old gits) and the council didn't want it to be left to the knights either (Lord Barden said something like more muscle than intelligence)," Merlin said brightly with a cheeky grin.

Arthur put his head in his hands. That was going to be an entertaining meeting. He could feel the headache brewing already.

Did they really need a meeting? He knew what the decision was going to be anyway. He looked up at Merlin who was looking a picture of nervous energy.

"Cancel them," Arthur said in sudden defiance.

"Arthur?" Merlin said with enough shock to forget that he was meant to be calling him 'Sire'.

"Schedule them for tomorrow," he said. "I'm going hunting today,"

Arthur got up and picked his hunting jacket from the wardrobe.

"Do you want any men to come with you?" Merlin asked and the tone of his voice suggested that he thought Arthur might have lost it.

"No," Arthur said "Just you,"

"Me?" Merlin said, looking worriedly down at his carefully illustrated list of Arthur's duties. "But I hate hunting," he moaned.

"But you've also got a lot of explaining to do," Arthur smiled widely.

Merlin looked even more anxious. "Do we have to do that while you have weapons? It didn't go well last time,"

Arthur rolled his eyes at an attempt hide the small twinge of shame that seemed to be accompanying him these days. There was still a mark on Merlin's neck from his sword. The sensitive pale skin had not healed completely and a small silvery scar was left behind. It wasn't noticeable unless you were looking for it. Unfortunately, Arthur felt himself looking for it frequently. His conscience was unable to let him forget his rash and stupid hurt-motivated actions.

Merlin must have caught on to where Arthur's thoughts had wandered because he cleared his throat and adjusted his neckerchief so the scar was hidden from view.

"Merlin, I…" Arthur wanted to clear the air. He wanted to apologise. But, as usual, his pride made him stumble and falter. He looked down at his hunting jacket and absent-mindedly brushed non-existent dirt from the leather sleeve.

"Don't worry about it," Merlin said quickly. "Please, can we just go back to normal?"

Arthur considered the imploring request in Merlin's blue eyes. He smiled sadly at his once manservant and future friend. "Merlin, I don't think we can,"

He visibly watched as Merlin's heart broke in front of him.

"I thought…" Merlin's voice cracked a little and Arthur searched frantically for the words to truly convey what he meant by his last few words. "Aren't you ok with the magic now? I thought you'd accepted that I'm loyal, that-"

"No! Merlin. I mean, yes I know you're loyal but that's not what I meant," Arthur sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Merlin waited for him to continue, it sounded like he had stopped breathing. It would make it easier for Arthur if Merlin would breathe in again. "Too much has changed, there's too much I don't know. We can't go back to normal because I doubt I ever knew what normal was for us,"

Merlin nodded slightly.

"Things will be different, Merlin," Arthur said solemnly and Merlin met his eyes. "But, you need to trust me, things may be different but I think…they will be better. You may not be my manservant anymore, but to be frank, the job never did suit you…"

Arthur's heart lightened at the sound of Merlin's small chuckle.

"…However, I will still need a friend and an advisor. I'll still need you…If you'll have me?" Arthur finished lamely.

Merlin's grin was the only answer Arthur needed. He responded to it with his own enthusiastic smile.

"Now, pack enough provisions for the day," Arthur ordered instinctively "I don't want to see the insides of these castle walls until the sun is well below the horizon,"

"Why don't you pack the provisions?" Merlin retorted "If I'm not going to be you manservant anymore…"

"I'm still the king," Arthur growled playfully.

And, just for old-time's sake, Arthur picked up his goblet and threw it at him. He watched as it satisfactorily bounced off Merlin's arm when the man brought it up to protect himself.

"Hurry up," Arthur said "We'll need as much of the day as we can get. I'm guessing that you've got quite a story to tell me. Something about destinies and dragons and saving my life and prophesies and apparently it all gets rather complicated,"

The End.


End file.
